Twitter acknowledges error in verifying hoax account claiming to be from author Cormac McCarthy
Twitter officials on Monday acknowledged the social media outlet had made an error in verifying an account claiming to be from author Cormac McCarthy.
'The account referenced was verified by mistake and that has since been reversed,' a spokesperson told the AP. 'The account will also be required to adhere to Twitter's parody, newsfeed, commentary, and fan account policy.'
The account for the award-winning author, 88 - which was first created in September 2018 under the handle @CormacMcCrthy - had its blue check verification removed after it was determined to have been phony.
The latest: Twitter officials on Monday acknowledged the social media outlet had made an error in verifying an account claiming to be from author Cormac McCarthy, 88. The writer was snapped in 2009 in NYC
An agent for the author told Rolling Stone, 'I can confirm that this is definitely not a genuine Cormac McCarthy account.'
As of Monday, it had amassed in excess of 49,500 followers, including famed author Stephen King.
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McCarthy who does not have any social media accounts, is the authors of works including The Road, All the Pretty Horses and No Country for Old Men.
A viral tweet from the account included a July 30 one that read, 'My publicist is on my case about my infrequent use of this infernal website. He says engagement is down and so are metrics and something something who cares.'
Details: The site earlier this year streamlined its verification policies
McCarthy, who does not have any social media accounts, is the authors of works including The Road, All the Pretty Horses and No Country for Old Men
The comedic tweet garnered more than 122,000 likes and added attention to the account that led to the verification exchange.
A March 2020 tweet from the account read, 'They’re called thong sandals not flip flops. Nitwits call them flip flops because that’s the sound they make but this is foolish. That’s like calling a gun a bang bang.'
A previous parody account claiming to be McCarthy was on the site in 2012, with its founder Jack Dorsey writing, 'We have the best authors in the world right here;' Vintage/Anchor Books said in 2013 that McCarthy 'doesn’t own a computer' in denying the account's authenticity, Rolling Stone reported.
The site earlier this year streamlined its verification policies.
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