TikTok banned a fake Dolly Parton account with 1 million likes on a 'doctored' video, spokesperson says
- A fake Dolly Parton account on TikTok sparked joy among users who thought she had joined the app.
- TikTok has since removed the account for violating its community guidelines around impersonation.
- The account amassed hundreds of thousands of followers before it was taken down.
TikTok has removed a fake account purporting to be run by Dolly Parton that posted a "doctored" video of the country star, her spokesperson confirmed.
A spokesperson for Parton told Insider that the original footage came from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, an organization that provides free books to children age 5 and under in the US and abroad. Today first reported the news.
The clip shared by the since-deleted @itsdollyparton account was originally posted on the TikTok page for the Imagination Library in April 2020, as the Australian outlet 9Honey reported. The "doctoring" in question appears to have been a slight crop to exclude the @imaginationlibrary watermarks on the video. TikTok automatically watermarks videos from creators on its desktop platform and when people download videos directly from the app.
Otherwise, the two uploads show the same footage.
The video shows Parton wearing a bright yellow top and blue and yellow patterned pants as the singer says, "Woohoo! Well hello, I guess I'm on TikTok!" before reassuring viewers that "everything's gonna be OK" and encouraging them to "keep the faith."
Later in the video, Parton says that she's planning on doing a live reading of a story that evening before singing an encouraging song.
The version shared by the phony account, @itsdollyparton, had amassed over 1 million likes prior to its removal, Today reported, and it remains preserved in reuploads on other social media sites.
TikTok confirmed to Insider that it had removed the @itsdollyparton account for violating the platform's guidelines regarding impersonation. The platform's community guidelines do not allow "accounts that pose as another person or entity in a deceptive manner."
On Monday, TikTok users were overjoyed at Parton's apparent presence on the platform, as people celebrated the video on other social media platforms. People reported that TikTok users flooded the comments of the video with excitement, with one person saying that they were "underdressed and underprepared" for Parton's arrival. Others, including media outlets, also heralded Parton's arrival on Twitter.
".@DollyParton's first TikTok is exactly the kind of #MondayMotivation we all need," the official "Good Morning America Twitter" account wrote in a since-deleted tweet featuring a segment about the video that received approximately 4,000 views before it was removed on Tuesday.
Some media outlets including People and Today also reported that Parton had joined TikTok on Monday and have since updated their stories with information about the account being fake, with People doing so after Insider reached out for comment. People and Today did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Parton's music has been a staple on TikTok over the years. In 2019, a trend circulated in which people acted out the lyrics to her hit song "9 to 5." Other Parton tracks like "Jolene" have also been widely used on TikTok.