Twitter accounts are being hacked; followers are left to question the true identities of the celebrities, political figures or companies behind the tweets.
Christine Pepin
Media Coordinator
What do George Bush, Barak Obama, and Sarah Palin all have in common? All have promoted the deliciousness of Jerry’s “mouth-watering” cheese steaks, of course. Wrong! For many of us that have repeatedly heard the radio spot, we’re very in tune with the fact that these political figures are being impersonated. What is said during this 30-second endorsement is found humorous by some, annoying by others; but one thing is certain- it is not real.
On Twitter, it is not so easy to differentiate.
The ease at which users can sign up on Twitter has allowed the presence of multiple fake accounts, impersonating a celebrity or predominant political figure. Back when I started my own account, I came across usernames similar to the one I choose and wondered if others would come to follow the real me. Thankfully, there appears to be only one EyeTraffic so this problem has yet to surface. By elaborating some very specific information on your profile page, this will help those that know you to properly identify your account.
Well, it is apparent now that Twitter has recognized the challenge and importance in maintaining the authenticity of its users. After the lawsuit of baseball manager Tony La Russa, there was an immediacy to release the beta version of its new verification feature. Due to the cost and time commitment required to accurately verify and account, Twitter will only be testing the feature with a few highly-followed celebrities. Those among the list to be already verified include mileycyrus, britneyspears, aplusk, THE_REAL_SHAQ, and sevinnyne6126, to name a few.
Buzz about the new verification tool also came in sequence with the recent news of Twitter hackers. With the string of shocking celebrity deaths in the last week, the news of the alleged passing of Britney Spears’ seemed too horrific to imagine. Thankfully, the singer is alive and well; and the rumor was only product of a hacker through TwitPic.
But what do these events tell us? First and foremost, begin to treat your Twitter account as a guarded resource for reaching your audience. Make sure to change your password often and be creative with it, as well. Sure, we all aren’t celebrities but that doesn’t mean someone at one point in time won’t try to scar our image or misrepresent what we’ve built. No hurt in starting to protect our accounts when we can.
Also, this could be an indication that Twitter may develop some legitimacy. Whether it is being forced to by law suits or the unmanageable take-off of its user base, the need is present. Twitter has undeniable potential in the way it speaks to audiences in real-time, but without some credibility behind it, it will be out of control.
Celebrity tweets impersonated?
Tags: Britney hacked, Tony La Russa, Twitter hacking, Twitter verification
