Woman named Alysa Liu has Instagram suspended as possible imposter of superstar skater

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — As the Bay Area celebrates Olympic figure skating phenom Alysa Liu, a young woman in San Francisco is quietly catching some of the fairy dust.

That’s because she is also named Alysa Liu, spelled exactly the same way. And she’s feeling the ripple effects of the superstar’s fame.

But as she’s finding out, it’s not always a good thing: Liu has apparently been deemed an imposter on Instagram.

Oakland’s own figure skating star Alysa Liu dazzled the world with gold medal performances at the Winter Olympics in Milan. Then she returned home to throngs of Bay Area fans eager to show their love.

This is the other Alysa Liu, a tech worker in San Francisco.

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“When she did win the gold medal… they’d say ‘Oh, congrats on the gold.’ I’d say, ‘I can’t take credit for that but I’m really happy for her,'” Liu told 7 On Your Side.

She’s heard over the years of the young skating phenom from the East Bay who shares her name. Now the skater has reached super stardom, admired by her fellow Gen Z members, including Alysa.

“I feel like more inspired to be like her and… be more positive, in the way that she is, sort of because we share this, this part of our identity, like our names,” she said.

Now that Alysa Liu (the skater) has won gold, this Alysa is getting online attention meant for the superstar.

“I would get… message requests from people who are trying to contact Alysa. And not only that, but I think somehow they found my number online too. So I just text them like, ‘Hey, this isn’t the Alysa you’re looking for,'” she explained.

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Fans have offered congratulations, asking to meet, leaving adoring voice messages like this one she played for 7 On Your Side: “‘Leave a message!’ (Scream) We love you Alysa Liu… bye Alysa Liu, I love you.”

It’s become annoying.

And worse, her name caught the attention of Meta.

“I logged into my account and just for some reason, it said that I had been suspended from Instagram and that I had 180 days to appeal this decision, or else I would be banned permanently,” Liu said.

It happened the day after the famous skater reportedly posted a story on her own Instagram, warning of scammers creating fake accounts in her name.

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“I was not contacting anyone or trying to, like, pretend that I was her. My account is private. I have very clearly in my bio that I’m from New Jersey. I went to Berkeley,” she said.

Liu says she’s had that Instagram account for 15 years, ever since grade school, about the time the young skater was here at the Oakland rink, training for a future that would reach the stars.

“So definitely, I think her popularity and fame has, like, just exploded, very suddenly,” Liu said. “I love her, but yeah, I think it definitely was… the impetus for, like, me getting banned from Instagram,” she said.

Losing the account was a shock.

“It’s like, kind of like a home base for all these really cherished memories that I have. Snapshots of my life at different points in time… And so when I thought about possibly losing it, I was really sad,” she said.

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Liu filed an appeal but Meta denied it, saying her driver’s license wasn’t enough proof of her identity

Liu contacted 7 On Your Side. We told Meta that this Alysa Liu is no imposter, and a spokesperson agreed to try to restore her account.

So far, it’s still in limbo.

“The parts of sharing the name that are a little bit negative are the parts that I would not like. Like, I would like to have my Instagram account back!” Liu said.

We’ll be keeping track.

Take a look at more stories and videos by 7 On Your Side.

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