X is implementing stricter guidelines for parody accounts.
Starting from 10 April, parody accounts that impersonate individuals or other accounts must include keywords like “fake” or “parody” in their account names.
Parody accounts will also be required to use distinct images that are different from the X accounts they represent.
Some users have raised concerns about the confusion caused by parody accounts, including those impersonating Elon Musk.
According to the company’s post on Saturday, these changes aim to clarify the unaffiliated nature of parody accounts and reduce the risk of confusion or impersonation.
The company is encouraging affected accounts to update their profiles by the enforcement date.
The changes will also apply to fan and commentary accounts.
A user expressed hope that these changes will address the issues caused by fake Elon Musk accounts.
Another user mentioned receiving contact from fake Elon Musk accounts on a regular basis.
There are numerous parody accounts for the platform’s owner, with varying methods of identification.
The content from these accounts can range from memes and jokes to promotions for cryptocurrency and giveaways.
One recent post from a parody Elon Musk account, with over a million followers, offered a chance to win a Tesla.
The post received significant engagement, with over 428,000 likes and more than 200,000 replies.
X introduced labels for parody accounts in January as part of its rules for impersonation and entertainment purposes.
These measures, along with the blue tick verification system, aim to prevent misleading impersonation while allowing freedom of speech and discussion.
However, the effectiveness of these measures has been called into question.
In July 2024, the EU stated that the blue ticks could deceive users and violated its online content rules.
Musk responded to the EU’s rules, labeling them as “misinformation”.
Following Musk’s takeover in November 2022, he expressed plans to ban accounts engaging in unlabelled impersonation.
Many parody accounts on X identify themselves as parodies in brackets at the end of their user names, but this method is not fool-proof.
Users can be misled if the parody account’s name is too long and only a shortened version appears in feeds or replies, especially if the account’s image matches that of the real person.
