X said today that it will now label parody or satire profiles to differentiate them from other accounts. In the past, users, including news presenters, have mistaken posts from parody accounts as authentic statements made by the actual people or entities.
X said that the label would be visible on both accounts and posts.
“We’re rolling out 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 deceived into thinking such accounts belong to the entity being parodied,” it said in a post.
In November, a couple of reverse engineers pointed out that X was working on such labels.
Currently accounts on X have to apply the label themselves. They can do that by going to Settings and Privacy > Your account > Account information and selecting the “Parody, commentary and fan account” option.
“Parody, Fan, and Commentary (PCF) labels are selected by people on X to indicate that the account depicts another person, group, or organization in their profile to discuss, satirize, or share information about that entity. This label distinguishes these accounts to ensure they do not cause confusion for others or incorrectly imply any affiliation,” the description of the label reads.
The social network added that it would soon share details about when these labels will become mandatory for parody accounts.
The company’s authenticity policy notes that impersonation of accounts is not allowed, but the platform allows parody, commentary, and fan accounts if they are compliant with the platform’s rules.
