Of course, one of the great problems or inconveniences that have arisen with the emergence of the Internet and more precisely, in social networks, are the so-called fake accounts or profiles that are created for questionable purposes, very different and under the guise that anonymity provides.to achieve somehow muddy or damage a » virtual habitat » and doing it, by the way, something dangerous.
Now this situation or phenomenon of fake profiles also affects the social network Twitter where there are suspicious profiles or profiles of dubious reputation and which are worth distinguishing in order not to fall into deception and consequent displeasure. That's why this article breaks down some points that should be set for find out or have more certainty if a profile is true or false. But first… it is essential to clarify and not confuse a few things that differentiate between fake accounts and parody accounts.
What is a parody account?
A type of account that can be found on Twitter is precisely the parody account that is distinguished by certain shades of creativity, acid or scathing humor, or criticism in relation to a topic that attracts attention and arouses some support or opposition from part of the people.
examining Twitter's general policies, it is stated that anyone who wants or wants can create a parody account and must, however, adhere to the criteria or principles set out in said policies for this type of account and which are attached below.
- Biography: in the biography it should be noted that there is no affiliation with the subject of the story and for this you need to use words like “parody”, “fake”, “fan» or “comment» here and let people understand what it is about.
- Account name: It shouldn't be exactly the same as the account subject name without adding some other keyword, such as » I'm not «, » fake » or » fan » and in such a way that people understand this.
This way, a parody account shouldn't be delivered as a fake account if it positively complies with Twitter's policies and even if truth be told, it's sometimes hard to distinguish or differentiate between them. Well, having clarified this point, we will analyze the key points to discover a profile on Twitter.
Discover fake profiles on Twitter
Undoubtedly, to detect a fake Twitter account or profile, you need to review and analyze a few things about that account with a little common sense and intuition to determine who you may be dealing with. However, it should be noted that in some cases it is difficult to define it and doubts can be left or one can think that an account is real, but the truth is that it is a fake professional.
Incomplete profile on Twitter
- Profile photo and header: the social network Twitter offers each user the ability to customize their profile through the use of a profile and a cover photo. Well, some fake accounts don't have this type of photo record and just show the egg icon or they use some kind of generic (non-personalized) image or something that can attract attention (a celebrity, a model, etc.) and in this way, they hide their identity, something very important in internet communications and therefore doubts can arise because of this.
- Biography: Related to the previous point, Twitter offers a space to write a short story or bio of who is behind that account so that other users get an idea of that person. If this bio is omitted or something unrelated is said, a generality, is inconsistent with the story or profile, or is in another language, among other things, it could be a suspicious factor.
Attached note no. 1 | By the way, sometimes people, out of laziness or for some specific reason, omit this information and they have every right to do so, but they manage to generate these doubts.
Social Life on Twitter (Followers)
- Many people follow – another point that may attract attention is that said account follows many other people or brands (hundreds or thousands), which is unusual in a personal account and which can raise a cloak of doubt as to its veracity of said account.
- Nobody follows him: Another key point of an account that can be fake is that nobody or almost nobody follows it and this is something rare since one of the essential ideas on Twitter is to generate or build certain links.
Attached note no. 2 | It is necessary to clarify that yes, that not all profiles that many others follow can be classified as a fake account or, that they do not have the popularity (who follow it).
Activity on Twitter
- Little activity: An account that was created a few years ago and has very little activity (few tweets) or hasn't streamed or posted anything in a while is nothing short of suspicious or someone who has forgotten they have an account.
- Many activities – On the other hand, if an account has a lot of activity it might be fake. In other words, if some content (links) is shared from a profile to certain types of pages (of low reputation), in a different language or strange things… you could be in the presence of a bot.
Attached note no. 3 | Logically, there are exceptions to accounts that are real and have little activity, as well as others where a lot is posted.
Verified profile or account
- Authenticity card: the social network Twitter has long been offering a very interesting tool that was written here some time ago and that is the ability to check or verify that an account or profile is real and be done, under a certain procedure. So one point that can prove that an account is true is that it has the verification ticket and that can be seen next to the user's name in the bio.
By the way, this Twitter service is optional and not everyone can access it. However, it is a point worth analyzing when faced with a user profile or brand, something recognized or exceptional, and to see its authenticity.
Useful tools or programs
There are some pretty interesting services on the Internet that can help in the process of getting to know or identifying openly fake profiles that can be used and thus get closer to confirming certain suspicions.
- Socialbro e Untweeps (socialbro.com and untweeps.com): are services that allow you to identify inactive followers on Twitter and this can be an additional aspect to identify certain truths or falsehoods in certain Twitter accounts.
- Fake Follower Check, Social Bakers, Followerwonk (fakers.statuspeople.com/Fakers/Wall –socilabakers.com –followerwonk.com): Analyze and classify tweeters who follow you as fake, inactive and good. Another interesting service is Twitter Audit, which even allows you to eliminate false followers.
- Tweet Cleaner (thetwitcleaner.com): This service is much more comprehensive as it can identify spam as well as inactive users, bots or unoriginal.
Report a fake Twitter profile
Finally, the social network Twitter tries to maintain a good "virtual habitat or ecosystem" even if it is impossible to keep it at bay from the false profiles that are created and that is why the same community can help by reporting said accounts so that assistance or Twitter team take the necessary or respective measures. Specifically, there are 2 ways people can report a fake account:
- From your profile: you have to enter that fake profile and then click on the ellipsis, press the gear icon (on Twitter for iOS) or the overflow icon (Twitter for Android) and then, « Report» and you will be Select the issue you wish to report.
- From the support page: another possibility is to enter on the Twitter support page and complete the indicated form so that it reaches Twitter and the related measures are taken. In this case, it is not necessary to enter your account or even have a Twitter account.
Attached note no. 4 | As a last observation, it must be said that: every complaint must be formulated seriously and with great care since, due to the improper use of this service, it can hinder the work or the purpose of this initiative and also, due to unscrupulous use or immature, they can block or suspend a real Twitter profile he doesn't deserve to have this kind of problem.
