Hajra Naz
According to a BBC story, Elon Musk’s X (previously Twitter) is implementing new guidelines for fan, commentary, and parody accounts that will go into force on April 10.
Any account that impersonates a person or organization must explicitly identify itself by using the terms “fake” or “parody” at the start of its account name, according to the revised policy. These accounts also need to have a different profile image than the actual person or organization they are imitating.
X says these changes are meant to reduce confusion and help users easily identify that such accounts are not officially affiliated with the people or organizations they reference. The platform is urging users with parody-style accounts to update their names and images before the April 10 deadline.
This move follows growing frustration from X users, particularly related to fake Elon Musk accounts. One user welcomed the change, saying they’re constantly contacted by impersonator accounts, while another said it’s “about time.”
Some of these impersonator accounts have even gone viral by posting fake giveaways or memes. One account with over a million followers, for example, generated over 200,000 comments and 428,000 likes by making a fake promise of a Tesla giveaway.
