A fake social media account impersonating the president of Malta was mistakenly verified by X, Maltese media reported Wednesday.
The account, which had some 50,000 followers before it was suspended, purported to belong to Maltese President Myriam Spiteri Debono and had the handle @MyriamDebono. It was given a gray checkmark, denoting an official government account.
The imposter shared political content as well as what appeared to be scammy announcements about a new Maltese cryptocurrency.
“We’ll launch Republic of Malta’s national crypto soon,” the account wrote in a since-deleted post.
A spokesperson for the president confirmed to the Times of Malta that the profile was fake, saying they were “aware of several pages and profiles impersonating H.E. President Myriam Spiteri Debono on Facebook, X and Instagram.”
X, formerly Twitter, changed how it verifies accounts after tech billionaire Elon Musk bought it in 2022, to allow anyone to purchase a blue verified checkmark. The company introduced a gray checkmark, which can’t be bought, for government officials and organizations.
The Maltese president’s actual account, @president_mt, remains unverified.
Many public figures and organizations have left X since Musk bought it, citing concerns about disinformation and hate speech on the platform, as well as the right-wing politics of its new owner.
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