BASTROP, Texas – Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) is set to enforce stricter rules on parody and fan accounts, requiring them to clearly identify themselves to reduce confusion and potential impersonation.
Starting April 10, all accounts that impersonate individuals or organisations—whether for parody, fan engagement or commentary—must include explicit terms such as “fake” or “parody” at the beginning of their account names.
In addition, they will be required to use profile images that differ from those used by the real individuals or entities they mimic.
“These 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 said in a statement posted on Saturday.
The move follows ongoing complaints from users about misleading impersonations, particularly involving high-profile figures like the platform’s owner Elon Musk.
Fake Musk accounts have been widely criticised for pushing cryptocurrency scams, fake giveaways, and memes under the guise of legitimacy—sometimes amassing hundreds of thousands of interactions.
A recent post from a Musk parody account with over one million followers falsely promised a Tesla giveaway, receiving more than 428,000 likes and 200,000 comments.
“Hopefully this includes all the thousands of fake variations of Elon Musk accounts,” one user wrote in response to X’s policy update. “About time, I get a fake Elon account contacting me almost once a week,” another added.
While X previously introduced parody labels in January and requires such accounts to self-identify in their bios, critics argue these measures have not gone far enough.
The blue tick verification system, reinstated under Musk’s ownership, has also been accused of enabling misinformation rather than curbing it.
The European Union, in July 2024, warned that X’s “verified” blue ticks may violate the bloc’s online content rules by giving a misleading sense of credibility to some accounts.
Musk dismissed the EU’s concerns as “misinformation.”
Under the new policy, accounts failing to comply with the updated rules by April 10 risk penalties, including suspension.
X is encouraging affected users to update their profiles ahead of the enforcement date.
