An anonymous user known as @BeverlyJWarren has developed a popular following amongst many Kent State students.

Within a week, this parody account has gained over 1,000 followers on Twitter.

The fake account was created on Jan. 8., the same day Dr. Beverly J. Warren was announced to be the university’s 12th president, following President Lester Lefton, as he retires later this year.

The account was believed to be the real Beverly Warren by many students. Some still believe the account is.

Parody accounts are usually created as a single-topic social media feed that represents a person or joke to entertain followers or create buzz online, and anonymous accounts are popular on college campuses.

Stefanie Moore, assistant professor for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, said she is not surprised to see the account pop up.

“Parody accounts like this are successful because of the anonymity,” Moore said. “We can then better relate some of this outrageous content with the people they are portraying in real time.”

The account started out with a feed that appeared to be professional and related to the new president’s position with excitement to get involved in the Kent State student body.

Image courtesy of Twitter.com.

As time went on, however, the account creator has tweeted some pretty unbelievable content such as “adding How to be a Housewife as a Kent core next semester,” making the belief that the account is the real new president seem very unlikely.

The account has also tweeted about partying with students both on and off campus, which led students to believe that there was a sense of interaction with their new president.

“I had no idea the account was fake,” sophomore nursing major Christina Markham said. “I just thought the new president was hilarious and cool with students. I’m really sad to find out the account is actually fake.”

Some students were unaware of the accounts’ existence, and some have gone as far as not knowing about the new president at all.

Many students have followed the account because they think the account feed is hysterical. Followers of the account are dying to know who the account creator is, but the user wishes to remain anonymous.

Twitter has specific guidelines for its parody, commentary and fan accounts. The account bio must include a statement to distinguish it from the account subject. This fake account’s bio states that it is a “parody account and in no way affiliated with Beverly Warren.”

However, Twitter states the account’s avatar and account name cannot be an exact logo or name as the account subject. The parody account uses Beverly J. Warren’s official headshot and her real name.

The legalities of the account have not come into question yet. University spokesman Eric Mansfield refused to comment on the situation.

If the account is reported, Twitter will be notified and will access the account if the complaint is about its parody policy and take further action.

Until then, @BeverlyJWarren continues to gain followers on Twitter and provide students with a good laugh during school.

Contact Rachel Gill at [email protected].