LeBron James Among Celebrities , Impersonated on Twitter , by Verified Accounts.
The impersonations follow the official rollout
of the Twitter Blue subscription option.
The service allows users to pay a $7.99 monthly fee for the blue check mark verification.
Spoof accounts began noticeably
appearing on the platform on Nov. 9.
The account claiming to be LeBron James stirred the Twittersphere after tweeting that the
NBA icon was "requesting a trade.".
I am officially requesting a trade. Thank you #LakersNation for all the support through the years, Via Fake LeBron James Twitter Account.
Onto bigger and better things! #ThekidfromAKRON #ImComingHome, Via Fake LeBron James Twitter Account.
The Twitter support account tweeted
that a team was addressing the issue.
We’re not currently putting an ‘Official’ label on accounts but we are aggressively going after impersonation and deception, Twitter Support Account, via statement.
Technology journalists predicted a great deal of confusion due to the change in Twitter's verification policy.
This is going to be a nightmare that'll be very funny before
it's scary, Ben Collins, NBC News Senior Reporter, via Twitter.
The reports of spoof celebrity accounts follow the suspension of some accounts that belong to actual celebrities.
Kathy Griffin was suspended after she changed her
Twitter profile to an impersonation of Elon Musk.
Elon Musk responded to reports of celebrities impersonating his account on Nov. 6.
Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended, Elon Musk, via Twitter