Shortly after acquiring Twitter three years ago, Elon Musk he announced he was removing the constraints from the social media platform, which had been criticized by some for becoming overly sensitive and lacking humor.
"Comedy has been legalized on Twitter," the tech tycoon posted via tweet in October 2022.
It appears not everything is covered. A parody, which mimics the style of another artist or writer to create humor or mockery, will have to follow fresh guidelines set by X beginning this Thursday.
"Accounts that mimic another user or individual must now include terms like 'fake' or 'parody' at the beginning of their account names," X stated. in a statement Completely eliminating all nuance from satire, which, when executed effectively, can serve as a potent form of criticism towards cultural and political developments and personalities.
The platform will similarly ban parody account owners from utilizing pictures that imitate individuals or brands they are satirizing.
“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, suggesting users impacted by the new rules comply ahead of the April 10 enforcement deadline.
Only a few individuals have sparked as many parody accounts as Elon Musk. Many of these parodies either promote cryptocurrencies or even give away cars Similar to this fraudulent Musk account with over a million followers, a recent posting encouraged users to 'like and comment' for an opportunity to win a Tesla. This particular post has garnered upwards of 420,000 likes along with approximately 200,000 comments so far.
Others exist solely to provoke Musk. overinflated ego. A few people believe that the recent regulations regarding parody accounts were primarily implemented due to the Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder being overly sensitive.
This is essentially to prevent people from mocking him, wrote one X user.
Up until this point, parody accounts received protection based on X's alleged dedication to "freedom of expression." However, these newly introduced guidelines appear to conflict with Musk's assertion that he adheres strictly to principles of free speech.
"I'm beginning to doubt that Musk truly adheres to liberal ideals regarding free speech," commented a reader on Mediaite. article about the new rules.
He claims he supports free speech, except when it makes fun of him," added another critic of Musk. post . ing on X.
However, not everybody disagrees with the new regulations.
"Here's hoping this covers all the myriad fake versions of Elon Musk’s account," commented one user following the announcement, as reported by the BBC.
"It’s about time; I receive an imitation Elon Musk account message nearly every week," commented another individual.
Determining who is real and who’s a scammer is one of the bigger challenges in navigating social media. Take, for instance, this post Sent on Monday from an account purportedly belonging to actor Keanu Reeves.
Hey all! FYI—this is my personal profile. Here you'll find only my latest photos, such as one from a recent encounter with @Elon Musk regarding dealing with impersonators. Please keep an eye out for fake profiles trying to share this post; be cautious!
The image featuring "John Wick" star and Musk is unmistakably clear. AI-generated , and the account that received it had only 153 followers, which is significantly lower than what you'd expect for a globally renowned celebrity like Reeves.
A lot of current parody accounts indicate their purpose within square brackets at the conclusion of usernames; however, this detail can be readily altered. If these accounts have notably long names, often just abbreviated versions show up in posts or responses, which makes it simpler for individuals to fall victim to deception—especially when the profile picture mirrors that of the genuine individual.
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