Although social media has been around for quite some time now, the number of users on these platforms have significantly increased during and after the pandemic. Twitter, one of the most used social media platform in the world has gained popularity for a lot of things recently. The company has been in the spotlight because of its takeover by billionaire Elon Musk and also due to the layoffs that followed. There have been numerous changes which are constantly being made to the platform that do not let it out of the spotlight. With millions of active users sharing their thoughts, opinions, and experiences each day, Twitter has become a powerhouse of knowledge. The best part about the app is that it represents the views of all people because individuals of varying mindsets have access to it.
However, online harassment and cancel culture are on a rise too. Therefore, some users have turned to burner accounts to maintain their anonymity and express themselves freely without fear of retaliation from individuals of differing opinions. Recently, the Twitter CEO mistakenly revealed one of his burner accounts. People were quick to make it out by a picture shared by Elon and found the account in no time.
Credits: https://www.npr.org/2022/11/05/1134561542/twitter-blue-check-paid-verification-elon-musk
What a burner account is?
A burner account is a Twitter account that someone creates to protect their identity from leaking online. It is not their main account and uses a pseudonym. Such accounts typically share opinions which are opposed by a large majority, discuss sensitive topics, or engage in political activism.
Like most things, there are positives and negatives to these kind of accounts. Most burner accounts are used for harmless activities like sharing memes or following celebrities they would be embarrassed to follows from their main accounts. There are some people who use such accounts for malicious purposes. Burner accounts are often used to spread fake news, harass particular individuals and to eventually evade the consequences for their actions. These accounts can destroy the mental peace of individuals and ruin the reputation of organizations. Therefore, concerns surrounding such accounts are valid.
Although the social media platform has policies against abusive behavior, harassment, hate speech, and impersonation, it can sometimes be difficult to enforce these policies. When users create burner accounts to prevent their original accounts from being suspended, it becomes a difficult task for the social media platform.
Why allow users to create multiple accounts?
Although there are numerous concerns that might make you question why social media platforms allow a single user to have multiple accounts, such accounts can also serve a valuable purpose. Burner accounts allow people to express themselves freely and anonymously. Activists in repressive countries and regions of the world make use of these accounts to share info about human rights violations and other government policies. Similarly, survivors of abuse or harassment have also used burner accounts to share their stories and seek support from the online community. Sometimes these accounts also help people take advice from other individuals online without judgement from them.
Ultimately, the impact of such accounts on social media platforms and Twitter in specific depends on the ways they are used in. However, it is undoubtedly important that with social media having an increasingly important role in our everyday lives, users must be faced with the consequences of their actions.
Elon’s Burner account:
In a screenshot shared by Elon providing content creators with useful tips they can use to monetize their accounts, people noticed another account on his screen which the social media app shows for quick switching of accounts. Followers of the billionaire saw the profile picture and quickly found the CEO’s burner account. The account had the handle @ErmnMusk and was called Elon Test. The types of tweets that had been made too were very interesting. Some tweets were made with a request to follow his account. Another interesting tweet made by the crypt enthusiast read “Crypto is confusing”.
The account has gained thousands of followers after fans of the Twitter CEO got to know that it was in fact a burner account of the CEO.
