Its technically real damage but is not reflective to damage to enemies which most people would base what a DPS is doing. Whether that should be in the scorecard or not doesn't matter. The scorecard doesn't really matter. Its a small representation of what is actually happening.
I believe the OP is referring to the damage the decoy and turret take when they are exploded. This will cause damage to them and damage to enemies in the AoE. It isn't real in the sense that the damage the turret and decoy take don't really show a true estimate of damage to the enemies. Slightly inflating the users damage out.
Honestly, who cares? If it´s only fake damage and not real one, it will only serve so that self-entitled wannabe OP dps players can feel validated. I don´t give a fluffy bodily waste about the scorecard, I have learned that, ultimately, it doesn´t prove or mean much.
QUICK DEVS. STOP WORKING ON DLC10 AND FIX THIS MAJOR PROBLEM THAT IS CRIPPLING YOUR GAME, SO THAT SCOREBOARD CHASERS CAN'T GET AN ADVANTAGE OVER EACH OTHER WITH FAKE DMG!!!!!!!!! It's not exactly subtle if people are throwing out a decoy and turret, then exploding them. If you see people doing it, kick them. But seriously, who the **** cares? It's only a pointless scoreboard that means absolutely nothing. It's a shame that so many people care more about that than genuine issues in the World.
Not all of it is fake. There's like 3 orange ticks of minor damage which is real. It's the dark colored numbers that are "fake." Someone self destructing these pets is nerfing their own real damage potential. it isn't difficult to realize or hear what they're doing. If you hear or see them all you have to do is kick them if it bothers you. After all the scoreboard is not the defintive measuring tool of performance. So any attempt of trying to make a big deal about this by requesting some kind of nerf to the pets directly is silly. The problem lies with the scorecard and the way it registers numbers and fails to distinguish what kind of damage is being done.
