X (formerly Twitter) has announced the launch of new labels for parody and fan accounts to provide clearer identification to users.
These accounts will now display distinct labels, including a jester’s hat icon for parody profiles, in order to distinguish them from official entities on the platform.
This change comes hand-in-hand with the mandate that parody and fan accounts must add the appropriate labels to their profiles. If not, they will be violating the Misleading and Deceptive Identities policy and face suspension from the social media platform. This is aimed at refusing social media confusion by ensuring that X users will be able to identity profiles that are not authentic.
Read the new labelling rules below:
Earlier today, “Not Jerome Powell” became the first account on X to be labelled as parody, with the announcement gaining over 166k views on the platform.
BREAKING: Not Jerome Powell becomes first account on 𝕏 to be labeled as parody. pic.twitter.com/4KGddPV8il
— Not Jerome Powell (@alifarhat79) December 2, 2024
“For everyone saying they’ve been fooled for all this time, relax. I’m Jerome Powell you clowns. This is just for security reasons,” the account user later joked.
This announcement follows a previous update in 2022, where X’s launch of paid verification led to a skyrocketing increase in impersonation accounts. In particular, parody accounts impersonating celebrities often appeared legitimate due to their blue checkmarks, causing mass confusion and anger among social media users. This prompted X to temporarily pause the verification system until it would resolve the issues.
X’s announcement has been greeted with considerable relief by many in the social media platform, with many accounts praising the initiative and hoping that it would lead to more clarity.
“This is sorely needed. It can’t come soon enough,” a user wrote. “Gotta love it,” another agreed. “I really hope accounts that don’t label themselves get suspended,” a third added.
However, some were less than impressed with X’s newfound vigor and characterized these new implementations as “strange”.
“It sure is becoming a strange platform. If I shitpost without PCF I could face charges” a user wrote.
Some users have also expressed skepticism if X will be able to successfully implement this policy, or if it is simply symbolic.
