Who is parodying Jeffrey Deitch on Twitter?
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Someone on Twitter doesn’t like Jeffrey Deitch, and the person has channeled his or her feelings into parody.
Last week, a Twitter account named @FakeDeitch started sending out messages that appear to mimic Deitch, the former gallery owner who recently became the head of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.
The tweets include remarks directed toward MOCA staff, Eli Broad and Times art critic Christopher Knight. Here are some of the printable tweets:
@FakeDeitch: I can’t believe I just ate a bagel from Brooklyn Bagel on Beverly Blvd. I mean I hated setting foot in the real Brooklyn. @FakeDeitch: When most people think ‘museum’ they think art. When I think museum, I think profit potential. @FakeDeitch: Do I have to bring my Koons puppy indoors? How do you say that in Spanish? / @latimes Heat wave to hit LA this weekend
As of Monday morning, @FakeDeitch had sent out 44 tweets and amassed a following of 119 Twitter users -- all in less than one week.
It’s not known who is behind the @FakeDeitch account on Twitter. An attempt to get the user to reveal his or her identity has so far gone unanswered. A spokesperson for MOCA said that the museum has no connection with the Twitter account.
Twitter guidelines forbid impersonation, but they allow for parody so long as the user makes his or her intent clear.
‘In order to avoid impersonation, an account’s profile information should make it clear that the creator of the account is not actually the same person or entity as the subject of the parody/commentary,’ says Twitter policy.
So long as the account follows Twitter rules, ‘it will generally be free to continue in its parody so long as it doesn’t mislead or deceive others.’
So who is ‘FakeDeitch’? If you know, or would just like to speculate, leave us a note in the comments section.
-- David Ng
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