Tory MPs Urged To Claim Bluesky Usernames To Deter Fake Accounts
Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick (left) are among MPs who have been targeted by fake accounts (Alamy)
2 min read
Conservative MPs are being advised to claim their Bluesky usernames to stop fake accounts from impersonating them on the increasingly popular social media platform.
A shadow minister on Monday messaged a Conservative MP WhatsApp group warning them that impersonators could claim their usernames on the Bluesky social media platform.
The message, seen by PoliticsHome, urged MPs to set up accounts to claim their usernames and then link to their real Bluesky profile from their X account.
A growing number of MPs are weighing up whether to leave social media website X and move to alternative platforms such as Bluesky, with some encouraging the Government to do the same.
However, very few Conservative MPs have signed up to the site so far, prompting some concerns that Bluesky could become an "echo chamber" dominated by people with left-wing views.
In the absence of authentic Tory MPs joining Bluesky, some fake accounts have emerged over the last few days pretending to be parliamentarians.
A false account pretending to be Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch appeared over the weekend and attracted thousands of followers, including political figures and high-profile journalists and commentators. The account has now been suspended.
On Monday, PoliticsHome identified another fake account impersonating Conservative MP Robert Jenrick, who was the runner-up in the Conservative leadership contest. At the time of writing, this account is also followed by other prominent figures. Most of the account's Bluesky posts were copied from Jenrick's X account, making it difficult to identify as false.
Jenrick confirmed the account was not set up by himself or his staff, and he did not know who was posting in his name.
"It’s very strange," he said. "It is posting my content but not mine."
The Bluesky site does have a verification system, but it is more technical than some systems set up by competitor websites. Anyone who owns a website – including politicians and journalists – can set their website domain as their Bluesky username to verify that a profile is authentic. However, many politicians have not yet used this system as it requires adding coding to the back office of their websites.
A Bluesky spokesperson said: "We're also working with organisations (such as governments, newspapers, etc.) to set up official usernames and verify accounts affiliated with their organisations.
"For their IT teams, the process of adding a DNS record is straightforward and often takes only a few minutes. We're working to make it easier to set your website as your username within the Bluesky app as well."
Bluesky has now taken down the false Badenoch and Jenrick accounts.
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