X to Enforce Stricter Rules on Parody and Impersonation Accounts Starting April 10
Social media platform X is set to implement stricter guidelines for parody and impersonation accounts, with new rules scheduled to take effect on April 10, as reported by the BBC.
Under the updated policy, any account attempting to imitate a real individual or organization will be required to include terms like “fake” or “parody” at the beginning of their display name. Additionally, such accounts must refrain from using the same profile image as the person or entity they are mimicking.
The platform stated that these changes are intended to minimize confusion and prevent misleading impersonation. “These updates aim to help users clearly identify unaffiliated accounts and reduce the potential for confusion or impersonation,” X explained in an official post.
The new regulations will also apply to fan pages and commentary accounts. X has urged users to make necessary updates to their profiles before the rules go into effect.
Impersonation complaints, especially those targeting Elon Musk, have been common. One user commented, “Hopefully, this includes the thousands of fake Elon Musk accounts,” while another added, “Finally! I get a fake Elon account contacting me almost every week.”
Parody accounts, which often post memes, jokes, and promotional content, have gained significant attention. For example, one Elon Musk parody account with over a million followers recently offered a chance to “like and comment” to win a Tesla, accumulating 428,000 likes and 200,000 replies.
In January, X introduced parody labels to help users distinguish these accounts, and it has also used a verification system to fight impersonation. However, the effectiveness of these measures has been questioned. The EU criticized the use of blue verification ticks in July 2024, arguing they could mislead users, although Musk dismissed these concerns as “misinformation.”
Musk has warned that impersonation accounts without proper labels could face bans. While many parody accounts use brackets in their usernames, identical profile images and long usernames still pose a risk of confusion.
