London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jun 02, 2025

Sen. Ed Markey wrote to Elon Musk saying someone impersonated his Twitter with a verified blue check. Musk responded, suggesting his 'real account sounds like a parody.'

Sen. Ed Markey wrote to Elon Musk saying someone impersonated his Twitter with a verified blue check. Musk responded, suggesting his 'real account sounds like a parody.'

"Perhaps it is because your real account sounds like a parody?" Musk tweeted when asked by the senator how Twitter will prevent impersonations.

Sen. Ed Markey penned a letter to Elon Musk after someone impersonated his Twitter account with a blue checkmark. Musk responded on Twitter by saying the senator's real account "sounds like a parody."

In a letter addressed to Musk and shared on Twitter, Markey said a Washington Post reporter "easily created a fake Twitter account in my name, and by paying $8.00 was also able to obtain Twitter's blue checkmark, signifying that Twitter had 'verified' the account was indeed that of a sitting U.S. senator."

"It was not," Markey's letter to Musk continued. "Apparently, due to Twitter's lax verification practices and apparent need for cash, anyone could pay $8.00 and impersonate someone on your platform."

The Washington Post reported on Friday that the outlet was verified "in minutes" while experimenting with the verification system and creating "imposter accounts" for Markey and a comedian. Both fake accounts were quickly verified, which the Post said makes the blue check "mostly worthless."

Following the experiment, Markey said that Twitter "must explain how this happened and how to prevent it from happening again."

"Perhaps it is because your real account sounds like a parody?" Musk said on Twitter in a reply to Markey's tweet. He also asked why Markey is wearing a mask in his profile picture.


Markey fired off another tweet in response to Musk, calling out the billionaire's companies under various investigations.

"One of your companies is under an FTC consent decree. Auto safety watchdog NHTSA is investigating another for killing people. And you're spending your time picking fights online," Markey tweeted. "Fix your companies. Or Congress will."

The Federal Trade Commission said on Friday that it is "tracking recent developments at Twitter with deep concern." Meanwhile, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has spent months investigating Tesla's autopilot feature, assessing data from 830,000 Tesla cars and almost 200 new cases of collisions while the autopilot feature was activated.

Musk said last week that he wants Twitter to be the "most accurate source of information," though many of his tweets in the last few weeks contradict him. He tweeted a link to a news site spreading unfounded (and homophobic) claims about the assault on Paul Pelosi, which left the House Speaker's husband hospitalized. He also tweeted that Twitter was the biggest driver of "clicks" on the internet, after which he was quickly fact-checked for being "100% wrong."

Musk's tweets have put him in hot water with advertisers, several of whom have suspended ads on the site. Since he completed his takeover of Twitter last month, he has laid off several top executives and a large chunk of the company's staff, including public policy staff who verify politician accounts.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
U.S. Goods Imports Plunge Nearly 20% Amid Tariff Disruptions
OpenAI Faces Competition from Cheaper AI Rivals
Foreign Tax Provision in U.S. Budget Bill Alarms Investors
Trump Accuses China of Violating Trade Agreement
Gerry Adams Wins Libel Case Against BBC
Russia Accuses Serbia of Supplying Arms to Ukraine
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
Chinese Woman Dies After Being Forced to Visit Bank Despite Critical Illness
President Trump Grants Full Pardons to Reality TV Stars Todd and Julie Chrisley
Texas Enacts App Store Accountability Act Mandating Age Verification
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Vatican Calls for Sustainable Tourism in 2025 Message
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on iPhones Amid Dispute with Apple CEO
Putin's Helicopter Reportedly Targeted by Ukrainian Drones
Liverpool Car Ramming Incident Leaves Multiple Injured
Australia Faces Immigration Debate Following Labor Party Victory
×