U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez seems to be frustrated with Elon Musk – and for good reason. The CEO of Twitter is currently interacting with a parody account on the platform that is impersonating AOC to the point where some can’t tell the difference unless they click on the actual profile.
While parody accounts are allowed on Twitter and Musk is not breaking any rules by interacting with the user, Ocasio-Cortez argues that Musk interacting with the account like it really belongs to her is causing further confusion.
“FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Tuesday (May 30). “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.”
On Sunday (May 28), the parody account tweeted: “This might be the wine talking, but I’ve got a crush on [Elon Musk].”
Musk responded to the account with a fire emoji.
After Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a warning to users, the fake AOC account followed up with a jab at the real congresswoman. “I’m still not going to date you,” it wrote.
The full name of the parody AOC account, @AOCpress, is “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody).” It is verified with a blue checkmark, which means whoever is running it is paying for Twitter Blue. Government officials like Ocasio-Cortez have a gray checkmark by their name. Since the full name of the parody account is long, the word “parody” is cut off on certain devices.
All of this follows a long-standing feud between AOC and Musk with them exchanging words after she claimed that he messed with her account, making it practically useless. She’s also called him out on Twitter Blue and after journalists that reported on Musk were suspended from the platform.
