- Hezbollah battles troops on border as Israel pounds Lebanon
- Alcaraz, Sinner breeze into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Bagnaia wins Japan MotoGP sprint to cut Martin's lead
- Alcaraz breezes into third round of Shanghai Masters
- Gaza cultural heritage brought to light in Geneva
- 'Bullet for democracy': Trump returns to site of rally shooting
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- South Korean cult-horror series 'Hellbound' returns at BIFF
- Nepalis fear more floods as climate change melts glaciers
- Honduras arrests environmentalist's alleged murderer
- Padres pitcher Musgrove needs elbow surgery
- Supreme Court lets stand rules to curb mercury, methane emissions
- Boston beat Denver in NBA exhibition season opener, but Jokic says omens are good
- Chagos diaspora angry at lack of input on islands' fate
- Biden says 'not confident' of peaceful US election
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- Lukaku stars as Napoli beat Como to hold Serie A top spot
- Ohtani set for MLB playoff debut as Dodgers face Padres
- Pogba's drug ban cut to 18 months from four years
- Devine leads New Zealand to big win over India in Women's T20 World Cup
- Bosnia floods kill 16 people
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Prosecutors seek dismissal of rape charges against French rugby players
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- Bolivia's Morales says claims he raped a minor are a 'lie'
- MLB Reds hire two-time champion Francona as manager
- Daniel Maldini receives first Italy call-up for Nations League
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- Ancelotti points finger at Madrid's 'lack of intensity'
- Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
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- What happens next in Iran-Israel conflict?
- Country star Garth Brooks denies rape accusations
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- Mauritius to hold legislative election on November 10
- Britain qualify for America's Cup final after 60-year wait
- IMF asks Sri Lanka to protect hard-won gains
- Morata returns to Spain Nations League squad after injury
- Irish regulator to probe Ryanair use of facial recognition
- Public allowed to see video evidence in France mass rape trial
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- Under-fire Ten Hag 'together' with Man Utd hierarchy
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Fact Check: How to spot impostor Twitter accounts
The rollout of Twitter's subscription service has prompted a string of accounts impersonating public figures, sparking concerns about the potential for scams and disinformation.
Multiple accounts posing as politicians, celebrities and corporate brands have been suspended after being identified as inauthentic.
The impostors had paid the $7.99 required to display a verified blue tick –- an identifier previously reserved for notable people or institutions -– under changes brought in by new Twitter owner Elon Musk.
There are steps people can take to determine whether a Twitter account with a blue checkmark is authentic, including checking the account's handle, creation date and how many followers it has -- and noting who is following it.
For example, one account purported to show NBA star Lebron James requesting a trade from his team. James' authentic handle – @KingJames – was created in 2009 and has more than 52 million followers. These include other NBA players and the Los Angeles Lakers, his team.
But the account that impersonated him used the handle @KINGJamez, came online in November 2022 and had fewer than 200 followers, according to archived captures.
Twitter users can click a profile's badge to see whether the account paid for it. The pop-up on paid accounts reads: "This account is verified because it's subscribed to Twitter Blue."
For accounts verified for notability, it says: "This account is verified because it's notable in government, news, entertainment, or another designated category."
Government agencies and public figures often list Twitter information on websites and other platforms, such as Facebook.
Dan Evon, senior manager of education design at the non-profit News Literacy Project, said people can always "perform a logic check."
"Many of these impostor accounts are posting overtly inflammatory messages," Evon said. "If the account is posting something newsworthy, has it made the news?"
- Fake accounts quickly created -
Twitter, which did not respond to an AFP inquiry, has rules against misleading and deceptive identities. Musk tweeted Sunday that "any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying 'parody' will be permanently suspended."
But the problem remains.
"It has simply become more difficult to determine credibility on the platform," said Gordon Pennycook, a behavioral scientist at the University of Regina.
Brian Whelan, who created a fake Donald Trump account, told AFP the process was quick.
"I rebranded an old account in less than five minutes, got the verification immediately using a Revolut card in my own name, then was able to use the account for two hours," said Whelan, head of video and social at the London-based Times Radio.
Other copycat accounts used paid badges to pretend to be lawyer Rudy Giuliani, the video game company Nintendo, and Twitter itself.
The new ease of obtaining a blue badge makes media literacy more crucial than ever, as the new system could open the door to disinformation from accounts posing as government leaders and agencies, health officials, weather channels, financial advisors and more.
"This change opens so many possibilities for bad actors that it's going to be difficult for fact-checkers to keep up," Evon added.
L.Carrico--PC