X of Elon Musk Implements Stricter Rules for Parody Accounts to Combat Misleading Impersonation

X of Elon Musk Implements Stricter Rules for Parody Accounts to Combat Misleading Impersonation

These new measures signal a further tightening of X’s policies around impersonation.

By RMN Digital Staff

X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, is introducing stricter rules concerning parody accounts in an effort to reduce confusion and impersonation. The changes, set to come into force on 10 April, will require accounts impersonating another user or person to explicitly state their “fake” or “parody” nature at the beginning of their account names. Additionally, these accounts will be mandated to use different images from the official X accounts of those they are representing.

The company announced these updates in a post on April 5, stating that the changes are “designed to help users better understand the unaffiliated nature of Parody, Commentary, and Fan (PCF) accounts and reduce the risk of confusion or impersonation”. X also clarified that these new regulations will apply not only to parody accounts but also to fan and commentary accounts. Affected account holders are being encouraged to update their profiles before the enforcement date.

The move comes in response to complaints from users regarding the confusion caused by parody accounts on the platform, particularly those impersonating owner Elon Musk. Numerous users have voiced their frustrations, with one writing in response to X’s announcement, “Hopefully this includes all the thousands of fake variations of Elon Musk accounts”. Another user shared their experience, stating, “About time, I get a fake Elon account contacting me almost once a week”.

Indeed, there are “a number of parody accounts for the platform’s owner, identifying themselves as impersonations in various ways”. The content shared by these accounts, as observed by the BBC, ranges from “memes and jokes, to promoting cryptocurrency and car giveaways”. 

One recent post from an Elon Musk parody account, boasting over one million followers, urged users to “like and comment” for a chance to win a Tesla, garnering significant engagement with 428,000 likes and more than 200,000 replies. Such activity highlights the potential for these accounts to mislead users, particularly when the impersonation is convincing.

X had previously rolled out labels for parody accounts in January, building upon existing rules that required users engaging in impersonation for entertainment purposes to identify themselves as such. These measures, alongside the platform’s blue tick verification system, were presented as tools to “prevent misleading impersonation while allowing speech and discussion”.

However, the effectiveness of these earlier measures has been disputed. Many parody accounts on X currently identify their nature by including terms in brackets at the end of their usernames. The report notes that “if a parody account’s name is particularly long, and only a shortened version appears in feeds or replies, users can unwittingly be duped – especially if the account’s image matches that of the real person”. This limitation of character display has allowed for continued confusion despite the attempts at self-identification.

The introduction of the paid-for blue checkmarks following Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform in November 2022 further complicated the issue of impersonation. Prior to this, the “verified” badges served as an indicator that an account genuinely belonged to the claimed individual. The shift to a subscription-based system meant that “anyone could change their name and picture to that of another account and made it relatively easy to impersonate other users”. While a ban on accounts claiming to be other users was subsequently introduced, a loophole was maintained for parody accounts, seemingly aligned with Musk’s stated commitment to freedom of speech and comedy, provided they clearly indicated their parody status.

The new policy appears to be a direct response to the continued misuse of this loophole, particularly by “scammers who pretend to be other famous users in an attempt to trick people into scams or amplifying their content”. The requirement to include keywords like “fake” or “parody” at the start of the account name and to use different profile pictures aims to provide a more immediate and obvious indication of the account’s nature.

It is worth noting that the European Union (EU) raised concerns in July 2024 regarding X’s blue ticks, stating that the “verified” blue tick accounts had the potential to “deceive” users and thus breached its online content rules. Elon Musk dismissed the EU’s concerns as “misinformation”. Following his takeover, Musk had also stated that accounts engaging in “unlabelled impersonation would be banned”.

These new measures signal a further tightening of X’s policies around impersonation, moving beyond labels at the end of usernames to more prominent identifiers at the beginning and restrictions on the use of identical profile images. 

The effectiveness of these changes in truly curbing misleading parody accounts and scams remains to be seen, but they represent a clear attempt by X to address the ongoing issues of user confusion and potential fraud stemming from impersonation on the platform. The company is actively urging affected users to update their profiles before the 10 April enforcement date.