Online Impersonation
Online impersonation refers to the act of creating an online presence in someone else’s name. This is a complex issue since some social media sites permit parody accounts or accounts that are not intended to represent real individuals. It is not necessarily illegal to impersonate someone per se, for example in comedy, but online impersonation is a growing problem. Many social media sites have anti-impersonation policies, but this does not provide a sufficient guarantee or protection against the risks of online impersonation.
Web Resources
Visit the profile page of following Twitter accounts:
Clearly these social media accounts are not the “real” people. In one case it’s a foundation promoting the legacy of Nelson Mandela, the second is a parody account of Queen Elizabeth, and the third example is a mashup-up of quotes from Søren Kierkegaard, the Danish philosopher, and Kim Kardashian, the reality television celebrity.
Social media response to impersonation
The Real Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson, a journalist and filmmaker, shares his personal experiences documenting the complexities of online impersonation via a Twitter spambot account. Watch the short interview with the academics who created the spambot account at the timestamp 4:25).
Warning: The following video contains expletives. Do not watch this video if you are offended by swearing and offensive language.
Case Study – Catfishing
Catfishing is a the deceptive practice of creating a fictional online presence to lure somebody into a relationship, for example a romance scam.
Dr. Alec Couros, associate professor of information and communication technologies at the University of Regina, has experienced a number of scams where his personal photos were used to lure woman into online romantic relationships for elicit payment.
Optional Reading
- Facebook as Catfish Paradise: It’s Community Standards Wears the Cone of Shame. Warning: this reading includes expletives. Do not read this article if you are offended by swearing and offensive language.