We've seen plenty of Twitter users abuse the $11 checkmark system to pose as celebrities, but that's child's play. No, someone has taken it even further, getting a $1,000 brand account that makes their impersonation look even more legit. And somehow, it actually worked. For reasons known only to Elon Musk's Twitter regime, some random Twitter user managed to get a brand account verified as Disney Junior. Yes, Twitter just handed out a brand account for one of the world's largest entertainment companies, failing to realise that no, the guy isn't from Disney. While the account was live, the user made official-looking announcements like South Park airing on Disney Junior. They even made their pinned Tweet #fuckelonmusk, making it even more incredible that the account stayed up for as long as it did. "No fucking way," reads the first tweet made by Disney Junior UK as soon as their fancy gold tick came in. Obviously, seeing a brand account - square profile picture and all - for Disney tweet like this was enough to get our attention immediately, and it quickly amassed thousands of followers.
The best part of all is that, according to the guy running the account, he didn't even ask for the golden tick. It seems like he had been running an unverified Disney parody account for a while, and someone over at Twitter just assumed it was the real deal and upgraded it to a brand account, free of charge. Twitter has been doing this for larger accounts that don't want to pay for Twitter Blue over the past few days, although it's not clear why on earth anyone would look at this account and conclude that it must be legit.
Alas, all good things must come to an end. Unsurprisingly, the account has now been suspended (but here's an archive link if you missed out). This is despite the owner, if their version of events is to be believed, getting the gold tick without applying for it. I mean, who among us wouldn't make some fake announcements if that had happened to us?
Their personal Twitter is still up at the time of writing, so at least they have that. So far, they haven't reacted to the suspension. Who knows? Maybe they're actually trying to argue that they are a representative of Disney. Or maybe the Disney hitmen got him, as he had predicted. In any case, it's just another exciting chapter in the story of Elon Musk's Twitter leadership. Hey, at least it isn't boring, right?