Is Twitter account @banksyny not really Banksy’s?

When Banksy began his highly touted “residency” in New York earlier this month, the Twitter account @banksyny was reported by some news outlets -- including the Los Angeles Times -- as belonging to the pseudonymous British street artist. Since then, rumors have been circulating that the account is actually a fake.

The @banksyny account began tweeting on Oct. 1 and has so far amassed more than 27,000 followers. The owner of the account appears to have tweeted fewer than 20 times, usually writing in vague terms such as “time to step it up” and “A cup of tea would restore my normality.”

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Gothamist, the popular New York-centric blog, claims that @banksyny on Twitter is phony, saying that the artist is providing updates on his website and Instagram, but not through that Twitter account. An item on Page Six of Tuesday’s New York Post also states that the Twitter account is a fake.

The Post states that a representative for Banksy confirmed to Page Six that the Twitter account “is 100% fake.”

The authenticity of many Banksy creations has been called into question numerous times in the past. In 2011, The Times ran an investigative report questioning some aspects of the artist’s Oscar-nominated documentary feature “Exit Through the Gift Shop.”

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Banksy, whose identity has never been publicly revealed, has apparently been traveling around New York this month leaving his mark on buildings and other public areas.

The latest update on the artist’s website says that a statue of Ronald McDonald having his shoes shined by a “real-live boy” will visit the sidewalk outside a different McDonald’s restaurant every lunchtime for the next week. It says the statue can be seen on Wednesday in the South Bronx.

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