Looks like Google+ is even having trouble keeping their own accounts active. Illustrious author and Twitter savant Neil Gaiman’s page has been suspended under suspicion of being a fake. The only thing is — that’s the page Google made for him.
Gaiman took to Twitter today to express puzzlement over the odd turn of events.
…and my Google+ profile is “suspended because it impersonates someone”. It was set up for me by Google. I am puzzled by this.
…and my Google+ profile is “suspended because it impersonates someone”. It was set up for me by Google. I am puzzled by this.
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) December 18, 2013
But that’s not all. In Google’s relentless hunt to take down their self-made potentially phony pages, it’s actually leaving the legitimate frauds live.
Interestingly, googling “Google+ Neil Gaiman” takes you to a fake account: https://t.co/FfsrHQnPM5
Interestingly, googling “Google+ Neil Gaiman” takes you to a fake account: https://t.co/FfsrHQnPM5
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) December 18, 2013
We’ve asked Google to clarify what might have happened and were simply told that they “suggest folks report impersonations to us.” So who are we to believe? We may never know. The better question: If an account is suspended on a network you don’t use, did it ever really exist in the first place?