X (formerly Twitter) has announced the launch of a new account tag or sarcastic account on Friday. Last year, the tag was first introduced on the Weibo platform as a visual metric to help users differentiate their accounts based on their type and nature. With the new “Imitation Account” tag, Elon Musk owns apps aim to reduce imitation by isolating imitation or satirical accounts from real profiles or increasing transparency about content and adhere to its authenticity policy.
Imitation tags on X
X’s secure account details the arrival of the imitation account tag in posts on the platform. According to the company, the “Imitation Account” tab will appear under the profile. It will be visible on the user’s main configuration page, as well as posts, to help users differentiate between real personality and their imitation equivalents, eliminate confusion and discard any affiliation’s meaning.
We are launching profile tags for imitation accounts to clearly distinguish these types of accounts and their content on our platform. We designed these tags to increase transparency and ensure that users are not fooled into thinking that these accounts are entities…
– Security (@safety) January 10, 2025
The Weibo platform said it will prove the source of its content based on its imitation, comments and fan (PCF) regulations that allow imitation account discussion, satirization and sharing of information. Although it does not require users to show their true identity on their profile, it prohibits them from impersonating individuals, groups or organizations for the purpose of deceiving others.
Platform owner Elon Musk has long advocated for the launch of such identifiers. Billionaires stressed in 2022 that “accounts engaged in imitation must include ‘imitation’ in their name, not just in the creature”.
Reverse engineers found that the imitation account tag was reportedly developed in November. However, these tags are not mandatory so far and will be notified when the user becomes the same. Currently, they can apply their own tags by navigating to Settings and Privacy > Your Account > Account Information and selecting the “Imitation, Comments and Fan Accounts” tab.
If any accounts are found to be unreal or imitating entities, X users can report them through the application or the Help Center.
