Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) warned her followers about a parody account “gaining speed” after interacting with Twitter CEO Elon Musk.
“FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility. It is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
“I am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see,” the congresswoman added.
FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility.
It is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread.
I am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 30, 2023
Ocasio-Cortez’s complaints reflected predictions from critics that parody accounts would cause trouble on Twitter after Musk changed the policies on verification marks for prominent Twitter accounts.
Actress Alyssa Milano was among those who criticized Musk over the platform’s new policies.
“So by revoking my blue check mark because I wouldn’t pay some arbitrary fee, someone can just be me and say a bunch of b——-. Does that mean Twitter and @elonmusk are liable for defamation or identity theft or fraud?” Milano tweeted angrily at the time.
Ocasio-Cortez’s anger was reportedly centered on the “AOCpress” account labeled “parody” in agreement with Twitter’s terms of service. The parody account has over 180,000 followers, while Ocasio-Cortez’s has more than 13 million, eliminating the chance of mistaking the parody account for the official.
The parody account mocked Ocasio-Cortez’s criticism.
“I can’t believe someone would do that to us,” the account responded.
“After brainstorming with my staff – I’m going to push Congress to make it illegal to joke, laugh, or make fun of me,” it added.
“I’m having my staff report every single tweet that makes fun of me to the DOJ,” the account continued.
One of the parody account’s posts, viewed nearly 400,000 times, mocked Ocasio-Cortez’s climate change agenda.
“To make windmills more effective — when the wind doesn’t blow, we should have helicopters hover over each of them and keep them turning year-round.”
The tweet, shared almost 60 times, drew Ocasio-Cortez’s attention after Musk responded with a fire emoji.
“This might be the wine talking, but I’ve got a crush on @elonmusk,” the tweet read.
The joke followed several angry exchanges on Twitter between Musk and Ocasio-Cortez after he purchased the social media platform in 2022, with the congresswoman comparing the purchase to an “explosion of hate crimes.”
“If @elonmusk wants to have a chance with me, he’ll immediately ban the parody account of me,” the parody account added.
Twitter allows “mock” accounts of prominent people so long as they “distinguish themselves in their account name and in their bio.”
The “bio” for the parody account reads: “Saying the quiet part out loud. (parody),” and includes the identical profile picture to Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitter platform.
Ocasio-Cortez’s Twitter account is distinguished by a gray checkmark, indicating it represents government property.
