The Twitter account calling itself "VerifiedClinton" disappeared
overnight. We do not know exactly why. Several of the ladies here were
tweeting about the true identity of the person behind it, and his
picture and the link were up on Chelsea's Facebook page. One way or
another, that account came down. Whether we had anything to do with it
or not, it is a victory for verification at Twitter, as well as for a security measure for public figures on Facebook.
As
I pointed out a few days ago, it is one thing to run a tribute account
admitting right up front not to be HRC. It is another to impersonate a
public figure and frame your words as that person's. That is fraud,
and it is nothing to fool around with, particularly when you are
impersonating Hillary Clinton, as yesterday made clear.
While
Hillary has many, many female loyalists, The Sisterhood of the
Traveling Pantsuits is deep, broad, and strong, I have never found a
woman at the bottom of a Hillary impersonation. This should be the
first clue to the potential impersonator that perhaps fraud is not a
good idea. Even if you live with a woman, you do not have a female
perspective on life. Your POV is going to be off. Hillary's sisters
know her voice, and we know immediately when we hear a false note in
yours. Trust me, there are many false notes. As good an impressionist
as you may think you are, we will spot you immediately based on the
above never mind the security measures the popular social nets have in
place, the second reason why you should stop dead in your tracks.
Twitter
has a very obvious way to signal that celebrities and public figures
are who they say they are. Using the word "verified" in your handle is a
dead giveaway that you are not, especially when the blue check is
missing on your banner.
When the verification is missing and the voice is off, it initiates a series of events.
1 - Hillary's sisters notice.
2 - They consult with each other since they have stayed very tightly knit over the years.
3 - They get mad.
4
- They revert to PUMA mode. (In case you are unfamiliar, picture an
angry mountain lion whose cub is in danger. We guard Hillary as if she
were our cub, and she has a lot of mothers.)
5 - The inevitable - a pack of angry PUMA women will go after you and bring you down.
No matter how smart you think you are (and I will not publish here the stupidest thing
"VerifiedClinton" did that gave him away on Chelsea's Facebook wall),
or how well you think you are imitating HRC, we will root you out. So
don't even consider trying to impersonate the awesome and inimitable
Hillary Rodham Clinton unless you don't mind a pack of angry PUMA women
at your heels.