Parody Accounts and Fake News

In Nigeria, if bad governance doesn't kill us, fake news will do the job. The recent elections in Nigeria has proven that, coupled with the rapid increase in parody accounts on social media, particularly twitter. Every Tom, Dick and Harry had a field day opening and operating twitter accounts in politicians' names and conveniently including “parody” in the bio. Most people went ahead to use these accounts to spread fake news. Tweeps were conveniently retweeting and trending information that never existed. Politicians and their spokespersons  (and this is not me defending them. Dem sef don too do) had their jobs cut out for them, struggling to explain and exonerate themselves from fake news everyday.

First of all, what is a parody? A humorous piece of writing, drama, or music which imitates the style of a well-known person or represents a familiar situation in an exaggerated way. Let me give you a few examples. Robin Hood: Men in Tights (parody of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves), Fifty Shades of Black (parody of Fifty Shade of Grey), Meet the Spartans (parody of 300).

When it comes to parody on social media, the policies differ depending on the medium an individual chooses to use: Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Our focus on this article is Twitter, because that's where most of the political battles emanate from. In Twitter policy, a parody, commentary, or fan account is an account that depicts another person, group, or organization in their profile to discuss, satirize, or share information about that entity.

What does Twitter say about parody accounts? To avoid confusing others about an account’s affiliation, parody, commentary, and fan accounts must distinguish themselves in BOTH their account name and bio. It should be clearly indicated that the account is not affiliated with the subject portrayed in the profile. Accounts can indicate this by incorporating words such as, but not limited to, "parody," "fake," "fan," or "commentary.” 

What happens when a parody account violates this policy? What happens when the language in the account name or bio contradicts the required profile language (ex. “official”)? Or when the user attempts to hide or obscure the required profile language through the use of excessively long account names or specialized fonts and characters? Such an account will be deemed to violate twitter’s trademark policy or rules regarding impersonation.

What can you do when you notice that an account is violating Twitter’s policy on parody? You can report that account and Twitter will review it and do what it sees fit in the given situation.  

If an account is using your identity in a way that violates this policy, you or your authorized representative can submit an impersonation or trademark report here. If you believe an account is misusing the identity of somebody else under this policy, you can flag it as a bystander by reporting directly from the account’s profile.

It is important for you to note that impersonation and identity theft is a criminal offense under the CybercrCrime Act, 2015. The penalty is a term of imprisonment for not less than three years or a fine not less than N7,000,000 or both fine and imprisonment. You think that Twitter ban is the worst that can happen? Just dey play! See section 13 of the Act.

We will talk about parody as it relates to movies and literary work, movies and music, but not today. For now, I hope this article has helped you understand that you cannot just create random accounts and begin to impersonate anyone you please. Together, we will cure this madness. 

Love, always.