Over the past couple of days the hash tag #respectfansaccounts has been trending on Twitter in response to changes made to running fan accounts. What followed was an interesting discussion about the use of fans accounts and Twitter's threat that if they did not comply with the new policy their account would be suspended.
There have always been opportunistic people on social media who create look alike celebrity accounts to cause celebrities trouble. Many contact fans who believe it is the celebrity and interact with them preaching a philosophy, ask for money or to meet the fan.
Despite the absence of the blue tick official account marker, a slightly different name and millions of other followers, some fans still fall for this scam and are taken advantage of. Fans who are more aware, circulate details and report the accounts to the celebrity and to Twitter. As a consequence most are suspended.
Fan accounts play an important role in any fandom connecting interested fans and distributing information. Many fans who run fan accounts make it very clear their account is not affiliated with the celebrity, having a different profiles photograph, biography and name. Despite this these some accounts still seem to cause some confusion among fans. (I have on occasions become confused about fan accounts and official accounts of music groups so I understand this.)
As a response to this growing phenomena of fake accounts and fan accounts Twitter has introduced a new policy. Under Twitter's new 'Parody, newsfeed, commentary, and fan account policy (the “policy”)' fan accounts ... "Here are the requirements for marking your account. All requirements must be met in order to comply with the Policy.
Bio: The bio should clearly indicate that the user is not affiliated with the subject of the account, including, for example, by incorporating a word such as (but not limited to) "parody," "fake," "fan," or "commentary,” and be done so in a way that would be understood by the intended audience.
Account name: The account name (note: this is separate from the username, or @handle) should not be the exact name as the subject of the account without some other distinguishing word, such as (but not limited to) "not," "fake," or "fan," and be done so in a way that would be understood by the intended audience."
As a consequence of this new Twitter policy there was an interesting and intense discussion about what are fan accounts, how they are being used and the impact of this new policy on Twitter users and fandoms. I have paraphrased some of the comments being circulated that have cause fans confusion and anxiety as fear grows their accounts may be cancelled.
Many Twitter users raised the point that many fans do not impersonate their favourite celebrities but use Twitter to support them. Their accounts are used as a place for people who share similar interests to meet and share information. Some have met in real life and become friends.
Many Twitter users raised the point there are many accounts that are sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, pornography, violent and abusive and send spam that are violating Twitter rules.
Some Twitter users who ran accounts said the policy was easy enough to comply with and wrote 'fan account' in their biography as not to be suspended but others refused to bend into Twitter some even deleting their accounts. Their fate will be known after the 25 May, 2018 where I am sure the topic will trend again.
It is difficult to know what Twitter determines to be a fan account. Lots of Twitter users have been interpreting the rules and sharing via their accounts. However, each account holder should check the information about fan accounts that can be accessed via the help tab in their account and direct all questions to Twitter.
Both Russell Crowe and Alan Doyle have had trouble with look-a-like Twitter accounts. Vigilant fans are always on the lookout for fake accounts and inform them when they come across them. As a result both Russell and Alan issued statements via their official Twitter accounts. I have included a copy of some here. No copyright infringement intended.
