OTTAWA—Environment Minister Catherine McKenna’s office lodged an official complaint with Twitter about a now-banned “parody” account that duped some into believing the messages actually came from the minister.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office confirmed Wednesday that McKenna’s office asked Twitter to ban the account, arguing it wasn’t a “parody” but instead an “impersonation,” which the social media platform has strict rules against.

“Parody is one thing ... But impersonation accounts deliberately try to mislead people – it’s like identity theft, and it undermines our ability to have productive, informed conversations about issues that matter,” McKenna’s office wrote in a statement.

“All elected officials should take impersonation and other efforts to mislead people seriously — regardless of where on the political spectrum it shows up. We all have a responsibility to protect our democracy and make sure our political debate is grounded in the facts.”

The account used the same profile and banner pictures that the Ottawa Centre MP has on her official, verified Twitter account. While the first word in the fake account’s biography was “parody,” it tricked some into believing it was McKenna herself sending out head-scratching messages.

The fake McKenna episode prompted a heated online debate among Canadian political insiders. Some conservative commenters railed against a perceived government crack down on free speech, while many others mocked the seriousness with which Liberals are treating fake accounts.

“For the record, there are at least a couple of dozen accounts purporting to parody me,” wrote Alberta United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney — where else — on Twitter.

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“Asking that they be shut down would never occur to me. But it’s good to know the Prime Minister’s Office is now on the case.”

There are also questions about the efficacy of banning anonymous accounts.

After being permanently banned from Twitter Tuesday evening, another McKenna “parody” account was created by the same person. In messages with the Star, that person — who did not disclose their identity — said they didn’t know what was behind Twitter’s decision to ban them.

“For the record, I’m not tied to any group, organization, or to the Conservative party or a candidate,” the person said.

“I know there have been lots of theories floated about. I’m just an individual using the tools we have at our disposal to entertain some followers.”

Under Twitter’s terms of service, parody accounts are broadly considered acceptable. There are multiple parody accounts of politicians of all stripes — including Trudeau and Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer.

Twitter differentiates “parody” from “impersonation,” however. Impersonation accounts, according to Twitter, portray “another person in a confusing or deceptive manner.”

“Accounts that are in violation of these (rules) will be actioned,” wrote Cam Gordon, a spokesperson for Twitter Canada. “There is an online form for impersonation that anybody can fill out to report an account.”

Gordon said the social media company would not be commenting on specific accounts out of privacy concerns.

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In a statement, the PMO said it will “remain vigilant” in asking social media companies to remove accounts that impersonate MPs.

“Elected officials of all stripes have long been the targets of impersonation accounts on various social media platforms, whether they are politically motivated, run by trolls or scam artists seeking donations,” Matt Pascuzzo wrote.

“And of course, decisions on whether those accounts violate a platform’s (rules) are made solely at the discretion of the companies themselves. To suggest otherwise is simply false.”

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