Just a few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it if someone told me celebrities use burner accounts to defend themselves or even to promote their activities on social media. Don’t famous people have better things to do than troll the Internet under fictitious names? Well, the recent revelations about Kevin Durant’s burner accounts and the equally fake Bryan Colangelo’s “wife” accounts were a real eye-opener. It turns out that there are a lot more celebrities using burner accounts than we thought. Celebrities use burner accounts for a host of reasons, from defending themselves anonymously to self-promotion under a different name, or to just use social media as a regular guy/girl without attracting too much attention.
There are many celebrities with multiple burner accounts out there, and for a good reason. For famous people, having a social media account is most often for promoting their work, music, sports, movies, much more than for personal or private use. Take an indulging moment and picture yourself as a famous person who wants to engage and interact with your small circle of real close friends and family. Would you do it in your wildly popular Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other profile where millions of followers react to every post you make or would you rather create an anonymous account for personal use? You’ll agree that it does indeed make sense for a celebrity to create a burner account where he or she can post content and use social media just like any other non-celebrity would.
Famous People Caught Using Burner
Social Media Accounts
There are many celebrities who’ve been caught using fake accounts for diverse reasons. Bryan Colangelo, the Philadelphia 76ers general manager, was recently accused of breaching his employer’s trust when he was caught posting anonymously on Twitter. According to a recent report in the online news organization, Ringer, Colangelo had created several anonymous Twitter accounts that he regularly used to showcase his team strategy, criticize players, and defend himself online as a different person, especially on his fashion taste. It is even claimed that Colangelo went as far as asking journalists to prod further on players’ unreported medical information under a different name. The allegations are currently being investigated by the Sixers management.
Colangelo is not the only celeb caught using burner accounts. Kevin Durant, yes the same NBA Star who played for the Golden State Warriors, also used a burner account on Twitter for the sole purpose of defending himself against online character assassination. Still in the sports arena, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell’s wife, Jane Skinner Goodell, also used secret accounts on Twitter to back her husband secretly on the Internet.
Kevin Durant created burner accounts on social media and used the fake profiles to argue with anyone who dared to say anything negative about him. Everyone believed the account genuinely belonged to a fan of Durant ready to stand up for the player until the truth came out in a bizarre twist of events. It turns out Durant replied to some people in Twitter from his real account while referring to himself in third person and in the same tone as his alter ego.
He was actually defending his decision to leave Oklahoma City for the Warriors a year earlier but it seems in the confusion forgot to log out of his real verified Twitter account and log into his burner account before throwing a few virtual punches online. He spoke as his alter-ego in his real account and somehow people realized he had a few other fake accounts.
It is even said that Durant has a burner account on Instagram going by the name
“quiresultan.” Well, there’s nothing wrong with having a secret anonymous Twitter or Instagram account. After all, Durant is human and has feelings just like you and I. He has the right to act
on his feelings and unwarranted negativities in any way he can as long as it doesn’t ruin his image. What better way to hit back at those who attempt to defame him than a fictitious Twitter account posing as another independent person with a more objective opinion?
I too would likely do the same in his shoes. I, as a celebrity, might take time to create fake social media accounts, fake personas, fake email addresses, use disposable phone numbers numbers, and the works. Other notable people in sports who admitted to have used burner accounts to keep tabs on their players include the longtime basketball coach of Duke University, Mike Krzyzewski, and Adam Silver, the current NBA Commissioner.
It’s not only famous people in the world of sports who use burner accounts. There are many
other celebrities who create fake personas to lurk online and interact with family and friends. News reporters also use such accounts stay updated on stories without anyone tracking them. Movie actors such as John Hamm and Kate Moss are known to have stealth social media accounts. Kate Moss revealed she has a fake Instagram account that she uses for “spying” purposes while Kim Kardashian admitted to having a secret Snapchat account. Prince Harry reportedly has a secret Instagram account that he uses to follow the charities he works with.
There is also James Comey, the well-known former FBI Director who used an anonymous
Twitter account going by the name @ProjectExile7 to stay updated on news and whatever else was going on in the country. Decades ago, President Trump used to communicate with reporters under different aliases such as John Barron and John Miller. There are numerous celebrities using burner accounts for a wide range of personal or professional reasons.
You Too Can Create Your Own Secret
Burner Accounts
Burner accounts are not just for famous people. Regular people like you and I can also create secret anonymous social media accounts and engage with people with greater freedom and privacy. In this information-driven age, where millions of people engage and form relationships online via social media, we are no different from celebrities, except for the fact that their posts are seen by millions of eyeballs.
There are many benefits of functioning online as a private person including privacy, freedom, and protection of your personal data. The problem is how exactly to create these burner accounts without being found out. Famous people didn’t invent burner accounts. The accounts are being created every day by regular people from parents keen on keeping tabs on their kid’s activities to teenagers seeking to post content online privately.
Here are a few tips on how you can successfully create and keep on using a more private and anonymous burner account on any social media platform.
How to Create Burner Accounts
If you are going to create a more private and anonymous Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, or
Instagram account, the first thing you need to do is to develop the mentality of a social media detective. Avoid using information that can expose your true self such as an email account or phone number associated with your real name or the names of your family members, close friends and colleagues. Use completely different details in everything from your name and email to your telephone number. For example, Colangelo was found out because he used his wife’s telephone number in some of his accounts. Don’t use data that can be traced
back to you, your family, close friends, workplace, or any part of your life.
Staying anonymous online requires some element of discipline and caution. Always ensure
that you keep your location setting off every time you use the social media platform discreetly. It is even recommended to hide your real IP address using a reliable VPN service as your content can easily be traced back to your location via the IP address. The most important part of the entire process when signing up to a social media platform anonymously, whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat, is to use a temporary phone number and email
address. The email address can easily be created on providers such as Google’s Gmail and by getting a disposable telephone number.
Benefits of Using Burner Accounts
Having a burner account gives you the freedom to use social media platforms with more privacy and freedom just like the celebrities using such accounts do. As a parent, you can easily use a burner account to follow your child’s social media profile and monitor their online activities and know the kind of people they socialize with. You can do the same to your spouse, especially if there are trust issues that you want to confirm.
Any regular user of social media platforms can also benefit from the high level of privacy accorded by a burner account. And just like a celebrity, you can use multiple burner accounts to defend yourself from people trying to ruin your image online. People will trust your point of view when it is supported by other accounts you have created.
More importantly, a burner account helps you to protect your personal data from prying eyes in the cyberspace. How many times have you been asked to enter and verify your personal details including your mobile number when signing up for an online account? All the time, I guess. You don’t have to keep on giving data mining companies your personal data and allow them to invade your privacy. When it comes to telephone numbers, your best and safest option is to use instantly available disposable numbers from MobileSMS.io. At MobileSMS, we provide you with reliable disposable phone numbers that you can use on any website or app