Fb verified a fan web page posing as Elon Musk

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A Fb fan web page for Elon Musk with 153,000 followers has been verified because the official web page representing the Tesla Technoking — in violation of Fb’s personal guidelines.
To be clear, the web page isn’t pretending it’s Musk; it brazenly states that it’s a fan web page in its About part (emphasis ours):

Musk owns a Tesla Roadster automotive 0001 (the primary one off the manufacturing line) from Tesla Motors, an organization during which he’s an early investor. The Roadster is a battery electrical sportscar with a 220 mile vary.
It is a fanpage, importing tweets and so forth from him

Right here is the web page’s description, which states it’s a fan web page.

There are solely 10 posts on the web page, with the earliest courting from October twenty first. One is a photograph of Musk, one is a notification that the web page up to date its profile image to be one that includes Musk, and the others look to be reposts of latest tweets.
The web page didn’t begin as a fan web page for Elon Musk. The Web page Transparency tab — which reveals some historical past of the web page, who it’s managed by, and whether or not it runs adverts — says the web page was created on July twenty eighth, 2019 to characterize a “Kizito Gavin,” which is the reversed title of soccer participant Gavin Kizito.
The web page has since modified its title six instances, all in 2021, most just lately altering to Elon Musk twice (by some means) on October seventeenth. The Web page Transparency part additionally says that the individuals who handle the web page are based mostly in Egypt. Musk lives in Texas.

The web page began as one for Kizito Gavin, however now apparently is the official one for Elon Musk.

Additionally perhaps price noting: the URL for the web page cuts off the tip of the phrase “official” — https://www.fb.com/ElonMuskoffici — which doesn’t appear very official.
It’s unclear when the web page was verified. Fb’s verification guidelines state that the corporate has “confirmed that the Web page or profile is the genuine presence of the general public determine or model it represents.” To be verified on Fb, you must fill out a type that requires, amongst different issues, that the submitter share official identification within the type of a driver’s license, passport, nationwide identification card, tax submitting, latest utility invoice, or articles of incorporation.
Verification is a problem for giant social media platforms. Twitter has additionally struggled with the issue. It paused its verification program in 2017 and relaunched it earlier this yr. The relaunch has been considerably bumpy, although, and the corporate admitted in July that it mistakenly verified a small variety of faux accounts.
Meta, the corporate previously referred to as Fb, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

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