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New York Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out billionaire Twitter CEO Elon Musk after discovering a fake Twitter account impersonating her. The parody account, @AOCpress, gained significant visibility and reach, partly due to interactions with Musk himself.
Ocasio-Cortez raised concerns about false policy statements being released and is considering her team's next steps, including potential legal action. This incident has reignited the debate surrounding Twitter's verification system under Musk's leadership, which has faced criticism for being vulnerable to abuse and impersonation.
She tweeted the following message shortly after learning of the account:
“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.”
You can see her post below.
\u201cFYI there\u2019s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility.\n\nIt is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread.\n\nI am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1685468114
A parody Twitter account with the handle @AOCpress, labeled as "Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody)," has attracted attention by impersonating the congresswoman. While the account name does include the term "parody," it is not immediately visible when viewing tweets on the timeline due to its length.
Musk's response to a tweet from the parody account, expressing admiration with "This might be the wine talking, but I've got a crush on @elonmusk," prompted a fire emoji reply from the Tesla CEO.
You can see their interaction below.
\u201c@AOCpress \ud83d\udd25\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody) (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody)) 1685323819
The parody account even issued a message later on calling on Musk "to permanently suspend" it from the platform though it mocked Ocasio-Cortez by claiming that someone "as important as [her] should never be allowed in a free society."
You can see the post below.
\u201cI\u2019m calling on @elonmusk to permanently suspend the @AOCpress parody account.\n\nMaking fun of someone as important as me should never be allowed in a free society.\u201d— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody) (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody)) 1685573554
Musk was criticized following his response.
\u201chis fixation on AOC is extremely weird\u201d— \u2077 FESTA \ud83c\udf8a (@\u2077 FESTA \ud83c\udf8a) 1685574501
\u201chow else can they demean a strong woman critic?\u201d— Rachit (@Rachit) 1685399325
\u201cThis won't play well with all his Incel fanboys. Looks like he is abandoning the movement!\u201d— Sal (@Sal) 1685471852
\u201cnever has a man so famous posted so much cringe on main\u201d— J (@J) 1685391067
\u201cNauseating\u201d— Pronoun Dealer (@Pronoun Dealer) 1685384417
\u201cDidnt you ban people who inpersonated you and big companys?\u201d— SillyFemboy (@SillyFemboy) 1685402068
While Ocasio-Cortez has not provided specific details regarding her team's next steps, potential legal action is being considered in response to the impersonation incident.
The situation raises questions about the efficacy of Twitter's verification system, particularly under the leadership of Musk.
Critics argue that the system has been vulnerable to abuse and allows impersonators to gain credibility and spread misinformation.