Elon Musk’s X tightens rules on parody accounts

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Elon Musk’s X is tightening its rules on parody accounts starting April 10.

The social media platform will mandate that accounts impersonating others start their account names with “fake” or “parody” and use different images from the accounts they are mimicking. The move targets confusion sparked by parody profiles, including those posing as X’s owner, Elon Musk.

Current parody accounts often add “fake” or “parody” at the end of their names in brackets. However, long handles can obscure this in feeds, risking confusion—especially with matching images. The new policy aims to tighten clarity as X navigates free speech and authenticity.

In a post on Saturday, X outlined the shift, stating: “These changes are designed to help users better understand the unaffiliated nature of PCF accounts and reduce the risk of confusion or impersonation.”

Affected fan and commentary accounts must comply with X’s new rules by the enforcement date. Users welcomed the crackdown, with one noting, “Hopefully this includes all the thousands of fake variations of Elon Musk accounts.”

“About time I get a fake Elon account contacting me almost once a week,” another X account user commented.

Parody accounts mimicking Musk vary widely, from those sharing memes to ones promoting crypto, reported the BBC. One Musk parody account with over a million followers recently announced a Tesla giveaway, racking up 428,000 likes and 200,000 replies.

X introduced parody labels in January, building on rules requiring entertainment-driven impersonators to self-identify, alongside its blue check marks providing a sort of verification for users. The EU flagged X’s blue checkmarks as deceptive in July 2024, a claim Musk dismissed as “misinformation.”



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