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X, formerly Twitter, will introduce a new labeling system for parody accounts. The move was announced yesterday, January 9, and aims to add an additional layer of transparency to the platform.
In a post to the platform, X’s Safety team said, “We designed these labels to increase transparency and to ensure that users are not deceived into thinking such accounts belong to the entity being parodied.”
We’re rolling out profile labels for parody accounts to clearly distinguish these types of accounts and their content on our platform. We designed these labels to increase transparency and to ensure that users are not deceived into thinking such accounts belong to the entity…
— Safety (@Safety) January 10, 2025
X states it’ll apply the parody label to both the account and posts, in a bid to clear up misinformation being spread. However, currently, this has to be done manually by the account owner in the Settings and Privacy menu. Typically until now, popular parody accounts would indicate as such on their profile’s bio section.
Since Elon Musk’s takeover of the platform for $44 billion, the platform has had instances of parody or fake accounts causing havoc. Notably, with the introduction of paid verification in 2022, a user impersonated Eli Lilly, a provider of diabetes treatments. They falsely announced that the company would make insulin for free, driving down the stock prices of the real Eli Lilly.
X parody labels ushered in to clear up confusion
It’s unknown if the parody label will also apply to the maligned CEO. During the 2024 Presidential Election, Musk posted an AI-generated image of Kamala Harris wearing communist clothing. Musk also posted an AI-altered video of the Democrat. He doubled down on the post, despite it violating his company’s own terms, and a Community Note wasn’t applied to it.
Bluesky, the rising competitor for X, already has a labeling system embedded into its systems. This allows user-generated labels to flag what that person does, or even for impersonation. These are used more to connect other users together. Currently, Meta hasn’t got a system in place for this but it does have a system in place to label AI-generated content.
In the past, popular parody accounts have included one based on celebrities like Will Ferrell. Now, one of the more popular parodies is centered on Elon Musk himself.
Featured image: X, Creazilla
