X (formerly Twitter) has announced the rollout of new account labels for parody or satire accounts on Friday. Labels were first introduced on the microblogging platform last year as visual indicators to help users distinguish accounts based on their type and nature. With the new ‘Parody Account' label, the Elon Musk-owned app aims to reduce impersonation by segregating parody or satire accounts from authentic profiles and improving content transparency, adhering to its authenticity policy.
Parody Labels on X
X's safety account detailed the arrival of parody account labels in a post on the platform. As per the company, a ‘Parody Account' label will appear beneath the profile. It will be visible on the user's main profile page as well as posts to help users distinguish between real personalities and their parody equivalents, remove confusion and discard the implication of any affiliation.
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…
— Safety (@Safety) January 10, 2025
The microblogging platform says it will demonstrate the source of the content visible to others, in compliance with its Parody, Commentary, and Fan (PCF) regulation which allows parody accounts to discuss, satirise, and share information. Although it does not require users to display their real identities on their profile, it prohibits them from impersonating the identities of individuals, groups, or organisations with the aim of deceiving others.
Platform owner Elon Musk has long been an advocate of rolling out such identifiers. In 2022, the billionaire emphasised that “accounts engaged in parody must include ‘parody' in their name, not just in bio”.
Parody account labels were first reported to be in development in November, discovered by reverse engineers. However, these labels are not mandatory as of now and users will be informed when it becomes the same. At present, they can apply the labels themselves by navigating to Settings and Privacy > Your account > Account information, and choosing the “Parody, commentary and fan account” label.
If any accounts are found to be inauthentic or impersonating an entity, X users can report them via the app or Help Centre.
