AOC Calls Out Elon Musk After Billionaire Flirted With Parody Account: 'Be Careful Of What You See'

In a fiery response, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calls out Elon Musk for his involvement with a Twitter parody account that misled users, urging caution in an era of misinformation. 

What Happened: Musk found himself embroiled in controversy after he interacted with a Twitter parody account named after the U.S. congresswoman. 

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AOC swiftly responded, criticizing Musk for boosting the visibility of the parody account, which was spreading “false policy statements.” 

The congresswoman expressed concern about the misleading nature of the account and cautioned netizens to be vigilant about the information they encounter. 

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.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 30, 2023

Why It’s Important: The latest incident ignited the old argument about the challenges of identifying and addressing impersonation on the microblogging site since Musk launched the Twitter Blue subscription service that enables users to get a blue checkmark. 

The parody account named “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody)” is verified on the platform with a blue checkmark — indicating that the user is a subscriber of Twitter Blue. 

However, the term “parody” in the username may not immediately be recognized due to its truncated name. Users can only discover if the account has a parody label by clicking on their profile, but others could mistake it as a genuine AOC. 

It is pertinent to note that government officials, including AOC, are typically distinguished on Twitter with a gray checkmark. 

A spree of trolls and fake accounts initially overran Twitter’s $8 Blue subscription. In fact, it was a nightmare for businesses and advertisers. 

Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly And Co. stock dropped after a “verified,” but parody company account said that it was giving away free insulin. Eli Lilly was forced to issue an apology. 

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Editor’s note: This article previously misspelled AOC’s surname as Ocasia-Cortez in the first paragraph. It has been corrected.