X is implementing stricter regulations for parody accounts across its platform.
Starting April 10, accounts impersonating others must clearly include words like “fake” or “parody” at the beginning of their account names. Additionally, these accounts must use different profile images than the official accounts they’re mimicking.
The policy change addresses user complaints about confusion caused by parody accounts, particularly those impersonating platform owner Elon Musk. “These changes are designed to help users better understand the unaffiliated nature of PCF accounts and reduce the risk of confusion or impersonation,” X announced in a Saturday post.
The platform encourages affected accounts to update their profiles before the enforcement date. These requirements will also apply to fan and commentary accounts.
Users have responded positively to the announcement. “Hopefully this includes all the thousands of fake variations of Elon Musk accounts,” wrote one user. Another commented, “About time, I get a fake Elon account contacting me almost once a week.”
Numerous parody accounts of Musk exist on the platform, identifying themselves as impersonations in various ways. Content from these accounts ranges from harmless memes and jokes to potentially misleading cryptocurrency promotions and fake giveaways.
One Elon Musk parody account with over one million followers recently posted about a chance to win a Tesla for those who “like and comment.” This post garnered 428,000 likes and more than 200,000 replies.
In January, X introduced labels for parody accounts, building on existing rules requiring impersonation accounts created for entertainment to identify themselves as such. These measures, along with the platform’s blue tick verification system, were intended to prevent misleading impersonation while preserving free speech.
However, the effectiveness of these measures has been questioned. The EU claimed in July 2024 that the blue ticks violated online content rules, suggesting that “verified” accounts could potentially “deceive” users. Musk dismissed these concerns as “misinformation.”
Following his acquisition of the platform in November 2022, Musk stated that accounts engaging in unlabeled impersonation would be banned.
Many parody accounts currently identify their nature in brackets at the end of usernames, but this approach has limitations. When a parody account’s name is particularly long and only appears in shortened form in feeds or replies, users can be misled, especially if the account uses a profile image similar to the real person.
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