BanksyNY Twitter is a Fake

The @banksyny Twitter account is fake, and not from Banksy.  Not unless you believe Banksy is tweeting Rebecca Black lyrics, saying YOLO!, and posting rat pics like the one above.

The account has garnered over 23,500+ followers.  That's impressive, but not compared to the 164,000+ following the legit Banksy account on Instagram.

M&F was fooled at first and even reported this Twitter as being Banksy's.  Banksy made no official announcement, and it sprung up literally the same time as the IG account.

This scenario brings up the dangers of social media.  If you are famous, or even semi-famous, even if you lock down your handle at most social media sites, there will always be another one where someone will use your name.  And, like in this instance, possibly impersonate you.

***UPDATE: M&F wrote this article a few days ago, but with so much Banksy action happening on the streets, didn't get a chance to post it.  BanksyNY's Fake Twitter now has 30,000+ followers, while Banksy's legit IG account now has 198,000+.  Also, yesterday the NY Post confirmed through a Banksy spokesperson that the BanksyNY Twitter account is fake***

Wikileaks Links to MELROSEandFAIRFAX

Yesterday, Wikileaks tweeted a link to M&F.

When we first heard the news, it was a strange feeling.  This was nothing that we ever hoped for or imagined, but once it happened, it seemed like something that we have always wanted.  It was like accomplishing a life goal that you never knew existed. Boom.  Take that, bucket list~

M&F has been linked to by many of the top news organizations in the world before, but this time is different.  Why is this a big deal?  Because, in a similar way to other stories that have been posted on M&F, it is a great honor when the ones you look up to notice what you are doing and support you for doing it.

Thanks, Wikileaks.

And then came the fear . . . .

When someone that the US government is watching closely notices you, well, then it becomes pretty certain that the government is about to start noticing you, too.

Within an hour after Wikileaks linked to M&F, all the digital devices linked to our IP address started freezing, or creeping to a halt.  Multiple devices, and it has never happened like this.  Now today, the next day, the devices run better than before.  Yes, M&F believes we've been hacked (and thanks for fixing the bugs, NSA).

Followers of M&F know that M&F remains engaged with the world of politics and constantly tries to provide a strong progressive voice, whenever those politics collide with the world of street art.  Because we follow what is happening, we already know that the US government is recording literally every single digital communication (phone calls, emails, web browsing, etc).  And because we have documented first hand how cutting edge journalist like Michael Hastings was silenced by a suspicious car wreck, we know that it is smart to be nervous.  Of course, we don't think that anything like what happened to Hastings would happen to M&F.  Hastings knew things that the government didn't want to get out. M&F just reports on what does get released. Different ball game.

Still, with that said, M&F would like to publicly state that in no way, is no one associated with this blog suicidal, have thoughts of hurting themselves, or plans to drive our at 80+ mph through neighborhood streets.  Also, M&F is pretty open about being pretty perverted, so it would be pretty hard to shame those around here (another pretty common government tactic).  Just sayin'.  When its all said and done, it does make us nervous knowing that the government is watching (and has probably hacked our computers).

Still, with that said, if there's a line to be drawn, we are proud that it is clear which side M&F is on. M&F will remain a voice that dares to speak truth to power.  M&F supports the progressive ideals of making this world better for the people, the animals, and the environment, not the corporations, the governments, and the ones hurting people and the earth.

Stay up, Los Angeles!~

Banksy Takes the Streets To Social Media

Want to find out the latest of Banksy's pranks and escapades?

Well, it seems that Banksy has taken his voice of the streets to social media and he will be announcing his latest exploits at these social media sites:

www.banksyny.com

Instagram: instagram.com/banksyny

Twitter: https://twitter.com/banksyny

As Banksy 'tweets' (er, that just sounds weird . . . ), "This should be entertaining - let's see what happens". . . .

MELROSEandFAIRFAX is NOT on Instagram

Yesterday M&F received an email from a street artist friend who said we had just 'Insta-raped' on Instagram.  We were puzzled by what he meant, and he said "Didn't you just join Instagram?"

Nope.  MELROSEandFAIRFAX has NOT joined Instagram.

This is just another case of somebody pretending to be M&F.  Its happened before.  M&F has had numerous bogus profiles started on many social network sites, and even for a short time had an 'impostor' website trying to copy the blog itself.  The guise is generally short lived.  M&F produces such a tremendous amount of content, that even the fakers and want-to-be-players can't keep up with the real thing.

Followers of M&F will remember our post on #InstagramsSuicideNote, where we pointed out that the new terms of service on Instagram seem incredibly unfair to photographer's since Instagram now owns the rights to any photo that is published, and insidious to users in a bad way since the site plans to use your personal information, and potentially your photos, to market products to your friends and acquaintances.  Even though M&F posts a massive amount of content, and does so without watermarking photos, in our opinion there is a big difference between uploading content onto the internet that anyone can use, and a corporate business owning our photos.  That is something we are not down with, and it is unlikely that M&F will ever sign up for Instagram.   

If there is a silver lining to this story, it seems that the people who are on Instagram have been quite welcoming and happy to hear that M&F is on Instagram (Sorry guys! But thanks for the kind words! Still 'Stay Up!').  The fake 'melroseandfairfax' on Instagram seems to be paying nice with folks--at least so far.  But the motives of anyone who pretends to be someone else need to be questioned, and it is puzzling to us why anyone would want to do this?

Who knows why people pretend to be someone else?  Maybe the intent is not malicious, and maybe someone is so enamored that they just want to try and pretend to be M&F for a bit.  The profile description reads like a backhanded compliment saying that it is the 'Los Angeles premiere street art source' and encouraging folks to follow for the 'best' pics of street art in Los Angeles.  That said, however, the 7 photos they uploaded are from years ago and not a good sampling of what M&F does on the streets.   Also, we would never put an 'e' at the end of premier.  But perhaps the funniest thing to us is the location of the squiggly mark.  The fake user put it before ~Get up stay up.  This feels so strange to M&F, almost like an upside down cross is sacrilege.  The reason that we put it at the end of a statement is that it seems to carry the energy of what was said forward.  So when we write, 'Get Up, Stay Up!~', the squiggly mark implies that the thought keeps on going.  To put it before the words defeats the purpose entirely.  Don't settle for an impostor  they don't understand the nuances of the dance.  The only place to get the real deal is here, on MELROSEandFAIRFAX.~

As far as social media goes, M&F does have a passive Facebook page, and a Twitter account.  But both of those are just token accounts, and the only place to catch MELROSEandFAIRFAX is right here online.

Stay up!~

#LOVELA

Get Off Facebook & Twitter, You Twit

#FREEREVOK -UPDATE!

MELROSEandFAIRFAX on Twitter!

MELROSEandFAIRFAX is on Twitter and our hashtag is #MELROSEFAIRFAX.

To stay up to date on the latest breaking street art news, come follow us on Twitter!

Dface Cheats Death

Charlie Sheen is a Twit

Charlie Sheen might have set a world record for earning a million followers on Twitter, but he's still a 'twit'. Click the jump for more

Charlie Sheen and Tiger Blood

Charlie Sheen has jumped to the top of Twitter. Him and his 'tiger blood'.

Banksy Crayon Soldier Buffed!

Well, not entirely, but parts of the wall were buffed off by the cleaning squad before any pics were released, even our first jump exclusives or Lauren Conrad's early morning tweeted pic.

MELROSEandFAIRFAX has just received an exclusive set of pictures that show the full Banksy piece before it was buffed.

As far as we know, these are the only full pics of the original piece anywhere in the world. Click the jump below for the full story and pics.

The Devout Banksy Followers

During this scavenger hunt for the new Banksy pieces around town, we have received many emails from legions of Banksy fans from all over the world thanking us for the coverage and wishing they could be here (one viewer even said they might fly out to see the pieces in person!).

The love shown towards Banksy is truly a beautiful thing, and this picture of a Banksy piece turned into a tattoo really captures the dedication of the Banksy fans~


***Thanks to Ali Manbari for the pics and if you are impressed by the ink, you can follow Ali on Twitter
Alizzo Twitter. Ali also wanted to mention that the ink was done by Humble Beginnings, so check them out if you dig the work***

Rebecca's Twitter Account Hacked!! For Real.

"This is Rebecca's sobering realization that her twitter account had been hacked. For Real." Street art from Insurgency Inc.

For more of Rebecca's dilemma, click the jump below