Eli Lilly fake Twitter account offers free insulin, as other parody accounts cause headache for Elon Musk

Since rolling out its new $8-a-month verification process, Twitter has been flooded with parody accounts, creating more headaches for the company’s new boss, Elon Musk. 

The latest parody account to raise eyebrows is one purporting to be the Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. On Thursday, the fake account said it was now offering free insulin. 

Eli Lilly told FOX Business it was aware of the fake Twitter account without commenting further. 

It was not clear what rules, if any, the account was violating under Musk’s new policy changes, which allow anyone who paid for a "blue check" to be verified. Though the fake Eli Lilly Twitter account includes the company’s signature logo, the account clearly states it is a parody. 

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Musk made clear on Sunday that all impersonator accounts needed to specify they were, in fact, parodies, and their failure to do so would have them permanently suspended.  

That same day, comedian Kathy Griffin’s Twitter account was suspended after she changed her profile name to Elon Musk. Her handle showed her "@kathygriffin" name, but the moniker by her blue checkmark said "Elon Musk" – which goes against the company policy on impersonation. 

Despite these parameters, parody accounts have flooded Twitter in recent days, stoking even more chaos after Musk’s tumultuous takeover of the social media giant. 

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On Wednesday alone, fake – but verified – accounts proliferated in the sports world. A Twitter user, not paying attention to the finer details, would be under the impression that "LeBron James" wants to leave the Los Angeles Lakers, sports writer "Adam Schefter" said Josh McDaniels is done as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, "Aroldis Chapman" is sticking with the New York Yankees, and "Connor McDavid" has been traded from the Edmonton Oilers to the New York Islanders. 

James, the four-time NBA champion and four-time league MVP, regularly engages with his more than 52 million followers. So it may have been plausible to some folks that he would request a trade via that medium with his Lakers off to a 2-8 start this season. He did no such thing, of course.

There were nearly 10,000 engagements with the fake post purporting to be ESPN reporter Schefter relaying information about McDaniels, whose Raiders are 2-6 in his first year in charge: more than 6,000 likes, more than 3,000 retweets and more than 500 replies. 

While all that was happening with sports names, Musk held a Twitter Space to make the case to his advertisers that his vision would make Twitter a safer and more reliable experience for users. Many advertisers have pulled out or paused over fears their brands could show up next to hate speech or misinformation.

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FOX Business has reached out to Twitter for comment. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.