“FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility,” the Bronx and Queens Democrat posted.
“It is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread. I am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see.”
The joke account, labeled “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody),” responded minutes later, mocking the progressive firebrand’s overly serious reaction with its trademark snark.
“After brainstorming with my staff – I’m going to push Congress to make it illegal to joke, laugh, or make fun of me,” it said. “Parody should be illegal.”
“I can’t believe someone would do that to us,” another message from the comedy account read.
FYI there’s a fake account on here impersonating me and going viral. The Twitter CEO has engaged it, boosting visibility.
It is releasing false policy statements and gaining spread.
I am assessing with my team how to move forward. In the meantime, be careful of what you see.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 30, 2023
The spoof, which had tweeted almost 60 times over the past three days, drew the attention of the congresswoman after Musk, Twitter’s CEO, responded to one of its Sunday posts with a fire emoji.
“This might be the wine talking, but I’ve got a crush on @elonmusk,” the message in question read.
The joke followed a series of acrimonious exchanges online between Musk and Ocasio-Cortez after he took over the social media platform last year — with the congresswoman tying the acquisition to an “explosion of hate crimes.”
When a Twitter user asked Musk, 51 — who had once complimented the “Squad” member’s “taste in lipstick” — whether the continued contention was a form of flirting, the Tesla CEO said AOC, 33, would “never date” him because he wasn’t “cool enough.”
This might be the wine talking, but I’ve got a crush on @elonmusk
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody) (@AOCpress) May 29, 2023
If @elonmusk wants to have a chance with me, he’ll immediately ban the parody account of me.
This is like literally not funny.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Press Release (parody) (@AOCpress) May 30, 2023
The fake AOC followed up Tuesday afternoon with a faux-coquettish message: “If @elonmusk wants to have a chance with me, he’ll immediately ban the parody account of me.
“This is like literally not funny,” the account added, imitating Ocasio-Cortez’s millennial patter.
By mid-afternoon Tuesday the parody account had about 110,000 followers, fewer than 1% of the 13.4 million people who follow the real AOC.
Twitter allows mock accounts of notable people as long as they “distinguish themselves in their account name and in their bio,” according to the company’s bylaws.
The bio for the comedy account reads: “Saying the quiet part out loud. (parody),” and features the identical profile picture to AOC’s official Twitter platform.
The real congresswoman’s account is distinguished by a grey checkmark, which indicates it represents a governmental property.
