Vico Sotto verifies Twitter profile after 'parody' accounts surface
MANILA, Philippines — Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto finally got his Twitter account verified after nearly 11 years on the social network, unveiling the trademark blue badge with white checkmark next to his name in a Monday post where he warned his constituents and other followers about impostor accounts with fake content attributed to him.
“Don't forget that there are a lot of fake accounts, fake quotes, fake anything-you-can-think-of... Hassle to deal [with] this on top of a health crisis...di siguro maiwasan sa panahon ngayon lalo na't maraming bored,” the local chief executive tweeted with a “verified” GIF in true millennial fashion.
Don't forget that there are a lot of fake accounts, fake quotes, fake anything-you-can-think-of... Hassle to deal w this on top of a health crisis.. di siguro maiwasan sa panahon ngayon lalo na't maraming bored.
— Vico Sotto (@VicoSotto) March 29, 2020
Basta yung totoong account ko verified at pangit yung profile pic???? pic.twitter.com/4Jj3oukQxa
“Basta yung totoong account ko verified at pangit yung profile pic,” Vico quipped, to which his supporters contended otherwise.
He then asked his supporters to raise awareness against fake accounts impersonating him, clarifying that his only verified social media accounts are on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Patulong po. Marami kasing FAKE ACCOUNT (yung iba pare-pareho itsura tulad nito). Doble ingat po tayo
— Vico Sotto (@VicoSotto) March 30, 2020
at kung may nakita po kayong nag-share o naniniwalang ako yun... paki inform naman sila. Maraming salamat!!
Lahat ng social media account ko ay #verified (fb, twitter, ig only) pic.twitter.com/8NpXSgnV2Z
Just some of the fake Twitter handles he exposed are:
- @vicosotto_
- @Itsvicosotto
- @VSvicosotto
- @IamVicoSotto
While some of these and related accounts have disclaimers that they are parody accounts unaffiliated with the Pasig mayor, fact-checking organization First Draft includes parody and satire among its seven types of mis- and disinformation due to its "potential to fool" despite meaning no harm.
1) Satire or Parody: No intention to cause harm but has potential to fool pic.twitter.com/vxYcNzkh7J
— First Draft (@firstdraftnews) May 2, 2017
Vico has around 733,200 Twitter followers as of writing.
“The blue verified badge on Twitter lets people know that an account of public interest is authentic,” according to Twitter’s Help Center page.
Accounts qualified for verification are those determined to have public interest, including users in government, politics, journalism, religion, culture, business and other areas of interest.
Related: Poser alert: Angel Locsin, Vico Sotto ask public to report fake social media accounts
“The badge appears next to the name on an account’s profile and next to the account name in search results. It is always the same color and placed in the same location, regardless of profile or theme color customizations,” according to Twitter.
“Accounts that don’t have the badge next to their name but that display it somewhere else, for example in the profile photo, header photo, or bio, are not verified accounts.”
