New labels will be attached to both satirical profiles and their posts. The X’s Safety Team announced the change in a statement late Thursday night. They explained that the labels are designed to increase transparency and ensure that users are not misled into believing that these accounts belong to the entity being simulated.

Currently, accounts can voluntarily add the rating to their profile on the X Settings page. However, the platform plans to make these ratings mandatory for parody, comment and fan (PCF) accounts in the future. More details about this requirement will be posted soon.

In recent years, many parody accounts of famous personalities have gained a large number of followers on X, sometimes causing confusion among users. For example, one account parodying owner X Elon Musk has more than 2.4 million followers.

This step comes at a time of increasing concerns about the spread of false information online, especially on social media platforms. Since Elon Musk took over the platform in 2021, he has scaled back many of its content moderation policies and introduced a user-based community feedback system. This system allows individual accounts to send context or relevant links to attach to posts that contain false or misleading information.

This new feature could be a positive step towards making social media a more transparent and trustworthy space. By clearly labeling satirical accounts, X can help users make informed decisions about the content they consume and engage with.