While browsing X, formerly known as Twitter, I noticed this week that I had reposted a series of TechCrunch articles. Except, wait, no, I didn’t do that.
But someone else using my name was. I clicked on the profile, and there was another Rebecca Bellan, using the same virtual photos and headshots as my actual profile: me on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2022 and side-eyed Chloe, respectively. The bio read, “@Techcrunch Senior Reporter | Journalist,” and the location was set to New York, where I currently reside. Account created in May 2024.
Perhaps the most surprising thing after I realized that this person – who? Bot?! – Creating an account impersonating me is the fact that they ostensibly paid for it, as evidenced by the little blue check mark next to my name.
When X was still Twitter, a blue check mark would let other users know that a profile had been verified as someone noteworthy. But since Elon Musk’s hostile takeover, that check mark now means the user has paid at least $8 per month for a premium subscription that gives them access to longer posts, fewer ads, better algorithmic considerations, and Grok. And while Do not believe me? Just check out all the passionate men’s responses to any of them Misk’s posts.
However, I’m neither a paid subscriber nor a fan.
I’m also not the only one who has been targeted by impersonation accounts. A few TechCrunch journalists were also impersonated on the platform. Some accounts, including my fake account, were suspended after being reported to X. But this only tells us that X is aware of this problem.
The problem is that impersonation attacks like this are much easier to carry out due to the deterioration of X’s verification system, which in fact appears to require no identity verification at all. The existence of a pay-to-play blue check system only encourages bad actors and nation-states to abuse it.
Really, X should have learned his lesson by now. When Musk initially rolled out what was then called Twitter Blue in November 2023, the feature was quickly used to help bad actors pretend to be celebrities, companies, and government officials. One account impersonated pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and posted a fake ad that insulin was now free. This tweet was viewed millions of times before it was removed, and as a result, the company’s shares took a hit.
Another account pretended to be basketball star LeBron James and posted that he was officially requesting a trade from the Lakers. Another pretended to be Connor McDavid and announced that the hockey player’s contract had been purchased by the New York Islanders.
Accounts posing as TechCrunch journalists have been benign so far. All they did was repost content that any of us would have reposted anyway. This suggests that the accounts were likely created by bots, and not particularly malicious actors.
We’ve been covering the verified user bot issue for X for some time. The irony is that Musk suggested that forcing users to pay for verification would actually eliminate bots on the platform, but that is clearly not the case.
For those who have been impersonated, you can report it to I’ve also asked coworkers, friends, and followers to report impersonation to X on my behalf, which may speed up the process.
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