NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Sorry, Cormac McCarthy fans. That blue-checked Twitter account for the famous, and famously media-shy author is fake.
鈥淭he account referenced was verified by mistake and that has since been reversed,鈥� a Twitter spokesperson told The Associated Press on Monday. 鈥淭he account will also be required to adhere to Twitter鈥檚 parody, newsfeed, commentary, and fan account policy.鈥�
The McCarthy account, @CormacMcCrthy, had more than 48,000 followers as of midday Monday, among them Stephen King. It was established in September 2018, but was only recently given a blue check for verification. Another McCarthy parody account from 2012 managed to fool Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, who tweeted at the time 鈥淲e have the best authors in the world right here.鈥�
McCarthy, 88, rarely speaks to the press and has no known presence on social media. His novels include 鈥淎ll the Pretty Horses,鈥� 鈥淣o Country for Old Men鈥� and the Pulitzer Prize-winning 鈥淭he Road.鈥� Some of the tweets on the current parody account make light of his unfamiliarity with technology.
鈥淢y publicist is on my case about my infrequent use of this infernal website,鈥� reads a tweet from last week. 鈥淗e says engagement is down and so are metrics and something something who cares.鈥�
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
