X is introducing tougher rules for parody accounts starting April 10.
Under the new guidelines, any account pretending to be someone else must clearly include the word “fake” or “parody” at the beginning of its account name. In addition, these accounts must not use the same profile pictures as the real people or accounts they are imitating.
This move comes after several users raised concerns about being misled by parody accounts, especially ones pretending to be X owner Elon Musk.
“These changes are designed to help users better understand the unaffiliated nature of PCF accounts and reduce the risk of confusion or impersonation,” the company said in a post on Saturday.
It encouraged affected accounts to update their profiles by the enforcement date.
The changes will also apply for fan and commentary accounts, it said.
“Hopefully this includes all the thousands of fake variations of Elon Musk accounts,” wrote one user in response to X’s post about its policy update.
“About time, I get a fake Elon account contacting me almost once a week,” wrote another.
There are many parody accounts of Elon Musk on X, each using different ways to show they’re fake. Some of these accounts post funny memes, jokes, or even promote things like cryptocurrency and fake car giveaways.
In one example, a parody account with over a million followers asked users to “like and comment” for a chance to win a Tesla. That post ended up getting 428,000 likes and over 200,000 replies.
Back in January, X introduced labels for parody accounts. This built on earlier rules that required users who impersonate others for entertainment to make it clear they are doing so. The platform’s blue tick system was also meant to help users tell real accounts from fake ones. However, some say these steps haven’t worked well enough.
In July 2024, the European Union criticized the blue tick feature, saying it could mislead users. They said some verified accounts might confuse people. Musk responded by calling the EU’s claims “misinformation.”
After he bought X in November 2022, Musk warned that accounts pretending to be someone else without clearly saying so would be banned.
While many parody accounts do label themselves—often putting “parody” in brackets at the end of their usernames—this isn’t always effective. When account names are too long, only part of the name shows up in posts or replies. If the profile photo also matches the real person, users can easily be fooled.