Lightfoot, CDOT, IDOT targeted by fake Twitter accounts claiming DuSable Lake Shore Dr will close

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the Chicago Dept. of Transportation and the Illinois Dept. of Transportation were all targeted by fake Twitter accounts falsely announcing the permanent closure of DuSable Lake Shore Drive on May 1.

The false information was tweeted early Friday morning by an account posing as the Chicago Dept. of Transportation, alongside a photo of a nearly vehicle-free DLSD, using the Twitter handle @WeAreCDOT. The city department's official handle is @ChicagoDOT.

The tweet was then retweeted by another false account purporting to be Mayor Lori Lightfoot, @chicagossmayor. Lightfoot's official Twitter handle is @chicagosmayor, with one "s."

The misinformation was also retweeted by a third false account made to impersonate the Illinois Dept. of Transportation Twitter, @IDOTIllinois. The agency's official Twitter handle is @IDOT_Illinois.

Lightfoot spokesperson Ryan Johnson tweeted Thursday that his team is "aware of the fake Twitter accounts and is working with Twitter to resolve the matter."

A spokesperson for IDOT also acknowledged the fake accounts and said they are working with Twitter on a resolution.

Phony accounts are nothing new. But now it may be harder to tell what is legitimate, since Twitter started removing its blue "verified" checkmarks from accounts that don't pay a subscription fee.

"I think the misinformation that can come out of social media is incredibly dangerous," said Andrew Hoog, co-owner of NowSecure.

Especially since 300 million people are on Twitter and information spreads quickly. Cyber Security expert Hoog said creating a fake account has become easier since Twitter CEO Elon Musk removed the verified blue check mark unless the account holder pays $8 a month.

"For many, many years, Twitter built trust in the blue check mark," Hoog said, "and now that you can simply go out there and have a name that looks pretty close to an official name and buy for $8 a month, fraudsters have jumped in it immediately."

Hoog said the verified blue check mark was something that was earned over a period of time.

"People that are very active, that are authentic, that have a real audience, basically earned that check mark," Hoog said. "It really became a badge of honor."

Hoog said unfortunately, there is not much governments, companies or individuals can do to stop fake accounts. But he says users can do a better job of taking their time to make sure an account is authentic.

"Look at the account, see how long it's been established, probably look at how many followers they have and maybe go in a look at their history," Hoog said.

So far, it's unknown who is behind the fake accounts. While the fake Lightfoot account has since been suspended by Twitter, the fake CDOT and IDOT accounts remain active.

To verify official city Twitter accounts, visit chigov.com/social.