Muse, the band, lost its social media handles to Muse, Meta's new AI agent

Screenshots by Karissa Bell (Instagram)

Muse, Meta's newly-released AI agent, is now utilizing societal media handles erstwhile controlled by Muse, the English stone band. The nonstop circumstances surrounding really the accounts changed hands are unclear, but it has erstwhile again raised questions astir Meta and different ample platforms' expertise to commandeer usernames erstwhile it suits them.

Muse, the band, which trademarked its sanction successful 1999, according to its wiki, has utilized the @muse moniker connected Instagram and connected X for years. But earlier this summertime fans noticed the band's Instagram username seemed to alteration to @museband. The alteration happened successful July, according to The Independent, though Reddit users look to person spotted a change successful early June.

In immoderate case, by the clip Meta officially unveiled Muse, the AI agent, connected Tuesday, the societal media institution was utilizing the @Muse grip for its caller agent. Likewise, the set erstwhile utilized the @Muse grip connected X, but is now going by @museband connected that level arsenic well. It's not clear erstwhile that changeover happened, but it seems to person caused immoderate crossed wires arsenic Mark Zuckerberg's first posts astir Muse the supplier apparently tagged the band's account, arsenic New York Times newsman Mike Issac pointed out. And early posts from different Meta execs besides inexplicably tagged the band, which Issac said was a "bug."

best bug successful twitter history pic.twitter.com/0VORftYfPn

— rat king 🐀 (@MikeIsaac) September 8, 2026

While specifications astir the changes haven't been made public, immoderate fans person expressed disappointment pinch the band's sanction being utilized for an AI feature. As the Independent notes, Muse has written songs that are "heavily inspired by fears and anxieties surrounding exertion and really it mightiness beryllium utilized for societal oppression."

Meta didn't instantly respond to requests for remark and neither did representatives for the band. But this is not the first clip an Instagram grip has changed hands astir the clip that Meta made a awesome announcement.

The institution secured the @Meta Instagram handle, which had been utilized by an independent motorcycle magazine of the aforesaid name, soon aft it announced it was changing the company's sanction from Facebook to Meta successful 2021. The mag ne'er publically commented connected conscionable really that sanction alteration came about, but its editor-in-chief wrote astatine the clip that it felt for illustration a "punch successful the gut" to spot a "corporate Goliath" return connected the personality it had utilized since 2014. The mag later changed its name.

Likewise, erstwhile Meta launched Threads in 2023, it didn't power the @threads grip connected Instagram. The relationship was alternatively utilized by a mini manner retailer called American Threads. But a period later, Meta abruptly gained power of the account.

Meta has said small astir really specified sanction changes play out. In 2021, the institution told maine that it hadn't made immoderate ineligible threats to the motorcycle mag but didn't reply questions astir whether it had contacted aliases paid the publisher. "We let group to alteration their usernames connected Instagram," a spokesperson told maine astatine the time.

Officially, Meta doesn't allow group to buy, waste aliases waste and acquisition Instagram usernames, though sought aft handles are known to waste and acquisition hands, sometimes done shady channels. People person besides mislaid desirable handles connected X successful seemingly unofficial ways. The personification who controlled @X earlier Elon Musk took complete the institution was told successful an email successful 2023 that he was losing the username, though he says he was offered merch successful return. That aforesaid year, the personification who had utilized the @music grip since 2007 had his username abruptly changed truthful that it could beryllium utilized arsenic an charismatic X account. More recently, X opened a "handle marketplace" for group to officially bargain inactive usernames.

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