X announced that it would now label parody or satirical profiles to differentiate them from other accounts. In the past, users, including TV news anchors, have mistaken posts from parody accounts for authentic statements made by real people or entities.
X said the label would be visible on both accounts and posts. “We are deploying 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 fooled into thinking that these accounts belong to the entity being parodied,” he said in a message.
In November, a few reverse engineers pointed out that X was working on such labels. Currently, accounts on X must apply the label themselves. They can do this by going to Settings & Privacy > Your Account > Account Info and selecting the option “Parody, commentary and fan account”.
“Parody, Fan, and Comment (PCF) labels are selected by people on X to indicate that the account represents another person, group, or organization in their profile to discuss, satirize, or share information about that entity. This label distinguishes these accounts to ensure that they are not confusing to others or falsely implying any affiliation.”we can read in the description of the label.
The social network added that it will soon share details on when these labels will become mandatory for parody accounts.
The company’s authenticity policy states that impersonation of accounts is not allowed, but the platform allows parody, comment, and fan accounts if they comply with the platform’s rules.
