About 18 months ago, I discovered that someone had set up a Twitter account pretending to be me.
My Twitter “handle” is @DianeRavitch.
The fake account is @Ravitch_Diane. I tried to find someone at Twitter to take it down but had no luck. I posted on it that it’s a fake.
I decided to ignore it because it had so few followers. As of now, it has 81 followers, while my real account has over 145,000.
But in the last 24 hours, something changed. Whenever I post a tweet, it goes to the fake account. Whatever I post or repost, it won’t come up on my real account but only on the fake. My real account has been silenced.
I’ve reached out to X, but I can communicate only with AI. I can’t deactivate the fake account unless I have the email for whoever opened it. Nor do I have the password.
So unless someone has a solution, I now have a parasite sucking away my tweets and reposts to a fake account with only 81 followers.
If you have any ideas about how to get X to shut down the fake account, please let me know.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
From what I’ve been reading, it may not be possible to do anything. Elon Musk fired so many people and cut or got rid of so many safeguards, X is like a failed state.
Anarchy, chaos, pandominum, fascism. It’s the wild west ruled by trolls, bullies, and gunslingers.
“EU opens investigation into X over alleged disinformation”
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67097020
“X has been accused of letting disinformation and illegal hate speech run wild, roll out misleading authentication features and blocking external researchers from tools to scrutinize how malicious content on the platforms spreads.”
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-charges-musks-x-for-letting-disinfo-run-wild/#:~:text=X%20has%20been%20accused%20of,content%20on%20the%20platforms%20spreads.
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/10/12/the-chaos-at-x-since-elon-musks-takeover-has-gotten-worse
If you can pin this message at the top of your blog, everyone who logs on to the home page will see it.
I read in USA Today, yesterday, that Elon Musk said he will donate $45 million a month to a super political pac supporting Traitor Trump.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/07/15/elon-musk-45-million-donation-trump-super-pac/74418715007/
Since you are among the Never Trumpers, maybe Elon Musk approved the take over of your account.
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Disgusting! Elon Musk announced he will give $45 million a month to Trump.
I wish Bloomberg would top his gift to Biden.
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Wish I could help – I had a similar experience on Facebook and my account is hanging in limbo since June 2023. And there is no help from FB – no customer service, and the “help” sends me into a repeating cycle that doesn’t solve anything! I’m done with social media, though I miss it sometimes.
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Welcome to a future watched over by “machines of loving grace.” Aged hippies who read Richard Brautigan long, long ago will know what I mean.
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This is from Perplexity. I suggest you ask all your followers to submit reports!
If the fake account remains active after your initial report, you can take the following additional steps:
If these steps don’t yield results, consider seeking legal advice, especially if the impersonation is causing significant harm to you or your brand.
Sources
[1] How to Remove Counterfeits from X (formerly Twitter) – Corsearch https://corsearch.com/content-library/blog/protecting-your-brand-how-to-remove-counterfeits-from-twitter/
[2] Report impersonation accounts – X Help Center https://help.x.com/en/safety-and-security/report-x-impersonation
[3] How To Delete Your X Account: The Social Media Detox Guide https://tweetdelete.net/resources/how-to-delete-your-x-account-the-social-media-detox-guide/
[4] Simple Ways to Report a Fake Instagram Account: 14 Steps – wikiHow https://www.wikihow.com/Report-a-Fake-Instagram-Account
[5] How to report violations of X Rules and Terms of Service https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-report-violation
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Ask Ai how to do it. I suggest using Perplexity then ask all your followers to report a complaint about the fake account. The answer is too long for me to paste it here.
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I just reported the fake account for impersonation!
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From Perplexity:
To shut down a fake account on X (formerly Twitter), follow these steps:
Report the Account:
Go to the profile of the fake account.
Click on the three dots (more options) and select “Report”.
Follow the prompts to report the account for impersonation or being fake.
File a Report:
Visit the X Help Center’s impersonation reporting page.
Fill out the necessary details and submit the report[1].
Investigation:
X will investigate the reported account. If it violates their rules, it may be suspended or required to update its information[1].
For more detailed instructions, you can visit the X Help Center[1].
Sources
[1] Report impersonation accounts – X Help Center https://help.x.com/en/safety-and-security/report-x-impersonation
[2] Help on your suspended X account https://help.x.com/en/managing-your-account/suspended-x-accounts
[3] How to stop fake accounts from following me : r/Twitter – Reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/Twitter/comments/1b3lfqz/how_to_stop_fake_accounts_from_following_me/
[4] How to delete fake account – Microsoft Community https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook_com/forum/all/how-to-delete-fake-account/63ac604a-4a71-4bc1-b4f8-9dd0e4eb95ec
[5] How To Delete Your X Account: The Social Media Detox Guide https://tweetdelete.net/resources/how-to-delete-your-x-account-the-social-media-detox-guide/
If the fake account remains active after your initial report, you can take the following additional steps:
Submit multiple reports. Report the account again using different violation categories, such as impersonation, spam, or abusive behavior[1][2].
Provide more evidence. If possible, gather additional proof of the account’s fraudulent nature, such as screenshots of misleading posts or interactions[1].
Contact X support directly. Use the X Help Center to submit a more detailed report or reach out to their support team for further assistance[2].
Report specific posts. In addition to reporting the entire account, flag individual posts that violate X’s policies[5].
Encourage others to report. Ask friends, followers, or other legitimate accounts to report the fake account as well[1].
Document the impersonation. Keep records of the fake account’s activities and your reporting efforts in case you need to escalate the issue.
Be patient but persistent. X’s review process can take time, so continue monitoring the situation and follow up if necessary[1].
If these steps don’t yield results, consider seeking legal advice, especially if the impersonation is causing significant harm to you or your brand.
Sources
[1] How to Remove Counterfeits from X (formerly Twitter) – Corsearch https://corsearch.com/content-library/blog/protecting-your-brand-how-to-remove-counterfeits-from-twitter/
[2] Report impersonation accounts – X Help Center https://help.x.com/en/safety-and-security/report-x-impersonation
[3] How To Delete Your X Account: The Social Media Detox Guide https://tweetdelete.net/resources/how-to-delete-your-x-account-the-social-media-detox-guide/
[4] Simple Ways to Report a Fake Instagram Account: 14 Steps – wikiHow https://www.wikihow.com/Report-a-Fake-Instagram-Account
[5] How to report violations of X Rules and Terms of Service https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-report-violation
Marie-Louise Caravatti, Ph.D.
Associate Director | Educational Issues
T: 202-585-4380 | F: 202-879-4406 | E:mcaravat@aft.orgmcaravat@aft.org
AFT, AFL-CIO
555 New Jersey Ave. N.W. | Washington, DC 20001 | 202-879-4400
http://www.aft.orghttp://www.aft.org/ | http://www.facebook.com/AFTunionhttp://www.facebook.com/AFTunion |www.twitter.com/AFTunionhttp://www.twitter.com/AFTunion
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Go to this page and write them a note:
https://help.x.com/en/forms/authenticity
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I just spent an hour on this page. I followed all the instructions. I proved I was a human. I took a photo of both sides of my license. I explained. The last question was: log on to your email. Nothing. Did it again. And again. And again. I never mastered the last step.
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So sorry this is happening to you, Diane!
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So I managed to lock the phony account by saying that I was born in 2020. But Twitter won’t give me access to my real account @DianeRavitch. This demonstrates that the fake account took control of my real account.
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Musk just pledged 48 million a month (I think that was the figure; might have been 46 million) to the Trump for Fuhrer campaign. Seriously. And he’s moving out of California because of the trans protection bill. Would not surprise me if X itself messed with your account because you are a moderate to progressive. X is turning into Gab or Parler or Truth Social or Breitbart or The Daily Stormer.
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$45 million a month but why quibble?
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A million here, a million there. Pretty soon we’re talking real money.
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I can’t find the account on Twitter—can you still find it? Maybe it was taken down?
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I just found the account you’re talking about, I think. But the handle isn’t @Ravitch_Diane, it’s @goToMyRealAcct
Account is pasted below. Do you want to ask people here to report that account to Twitter? Maybe reporting in volume would help. But before I report it, I want to make sure it’s the one you’re talking about.
https://x.com/gotomyrealacct?s=21&t=vV_4bJ7GuABaalzetJofQA
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Yes, FLERP. Please report it. I changed the handle to alert readers that this is not my actual account.
I ignored the existence of this account for 18 months but in the last day or two, all my tweets are going there instead of my real site. It’s like being silenced since I can’t share info with my followers on X.
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Ok, I will. The fact that you can change the handle is odd. Can you delete the account?
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FLERP,
I have filled out the impersonation form repeatedly. I have given all the information requested. I have explained that I can’t send a tweet to my account because it automatically goes to the fake account (81 followers). I sent a photo of my driver’s license, back and front, and myself. I authenticated myself multiple times. And at the very end of this lengthy process, I was instructed to open my email address. I did that and nothing happened. I did the whole process four times and every time that last request (open your email address) stopped me and didn’t allow me to continue.
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The account page is no longer loading. It might have been suspended.
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I caused it to be suspended by accident. I went into the author’s details. The only detail was my birthdate. I changed the year of my birth to 2020. Twitter immediately locked the account because I’m too young to have a Twitter account!
The email associated with the account is T…..@P……com
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I am a board member of MISSD, a foundation that educates on the side effects of medications. My sister, the founder , speaks around the world. Our twitter and facebook are hacked and our administrator is blocked from posting any new information. META has been worthless to help. I feel your frustration.
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I’ve also run into the frustrating META AI that has been a waste of time for me and accomplished nothing but being sent in circles. Before I became the dog that endlessly chases its tail, I stopped trying and bought an Apple iMac desktop where I actually reach humans when I need help.
There are competitors to X, formerly known as Twitter
Mastodon
Bluesky
Tumbler
LindedIn
CounterSocial
And more:
https://businessmodelanalyst.com/x-twitter-alternatives-competitors/
I still have my old Twitter, now X, account but I think I’m going to migrate to one of those soon. And tweet about it on X if I still have access.
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Anyone here that wants to report your X account being hijacked may also file a complaint, as others have suggest, and if they have X accounts of their own, post tweets about the hijack and how the X AI isn’t helping. Asking others to do the same.
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The only social sites I’m involved with are Instagram and Facebook which allow me to keep in contact with family and friends. I just never got or understood Twitter/X. Now that Musk is a supporter of Trump, I will never try X or buy a Tesla.
Of course, Instagram and Facebook can be hacked as well. Fingers crossed that I don’t have to deal with a hacker.
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Try posting directly to Musk. Or post that you are leaving X and moving to Blue Sky or Mastodon
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My district suffered a data breach in January and my Twitter/X school account was hacked in February by crypto hackers. I made the mistake of reporting their posts on my account in their own pages and Twitter/X locked me out and suspended my account. I went through the round and round of reporting the issue and trying to get back on but I got nowhere. The frustration level is through the roof. So now, I do not use the platform for school anymore because it won’t let me use the same email address to create a new one. It’s not worth it. Sorry this happening to you, Diane. Twitter is a den of hate and chaos.
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Another reason why I’ve never used twitter/x. The negatives far outweigh the positives in my view. Could someone tell (convince) me what I’ve missed beyond the opportunity to further lower my estimation of society’s collective intelligence, to have access to shallow and trite observations (at least from those I’ve seen republished in other media), to determine who or what is or isn’t popular, mainly among people who think like me, and to enrich a wealthy misguided megalomaniac. Is there something x adds that cannot be obtained elsewhere, for example, in the contents and the comments section of interesting, substantive, and stimulating blogs like this one.
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Public figures, including public intellectuals like Diane Ravitch, rely on these big media platforms to reach their audiences. Alas. A necessary evil. We need a progressive social media alternative to these Reichwing platforms owned by scum like Musk.
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