Someone's impersonating Laurence Tribe on Mastodon. He's still on Twitter.

[pnwmom]

Link to tweet

Beware of fake “people” on #Mastodon. I have no account there, but someone pretending to be me and using the moniker [e-mail] reposted my tweets for a while, then stopped. They might start up again and post weird shit, falsely attributing it to me. It’s dangerous!

Link to tweet

I noticed my number of followers drop for the first time in a couple weeks right after Trump‘s return was announced. My advice: If you’re following me, don’t depart Twitter, thus diminishing my reach; just don’t pay attention to Trump!

[sanatanadharma]

1. Why does anyone care how many followers they have?

Does the concern suggest a lack of self-confidence?
Or is it simply another illustration of the negative power of the ego with its insatiable appetite for self-aggrandizement?

[pnwmom]

2. He's trying to offer thoughtful analysis instead of propaganda and fake news.

Why wouldn't he want people to read what he has to say?

[Emrys]

3. Hoo boy. So it begins?

The effects of Musk's idiocy may spread doubt through any sites people move to if they decide to leave Twitter.

Some of those sites likely have more robust account verification procedures for the general public than Twitter does, but are they geared to a level of moderation that will avoid impersonation of notable figures (and yes, I do think Tribe is notable)?