Banksy and a tweet and pseudonyms

@molotovbouquet tweeted an image of Fauci and Trump in response to a new Lincoln Project ad about their respective histories:

The molotov account’s name is “Not Banksy” and states that they’re “not on Twitter, not @BryanSGaakman”. The image at the top of his bio looks like a Banksy, and his avatar is a man in a hoodie (the uniform of street artists):

@molotovbouquet on Twitter

The name “molotov bouquet” is likely a reference to a Banksy titled “Love Is In The Air (Flower Thrower)”. According to MyArtBroker, it first appeared in 2003 “in Jerusalem shortly after the construction of the West Bank Wall”:

image from Michael Owens

@BryanSGaakman is an anagram (no, I did not figure this out) of “Banksy anagram”. His bio has an image of a possible Banksy (note the balloon for further reference below):

@BryanSGaakman

Back on 10 Jun 2018, someone stole a Banksy titled Trolley Hunters from a Toronto art gallery. The thief was recorded on security camera, wearing a hoodie. He shuffles around inconspicuously and alone, grabs the painting, then hurries out.

The suspicion is that Banksy was the thief who stole the Banksy because, well, it’s so on brand for him. In fact, just the day after the theft, Banksy posted a story of some hijinks he had just perpetrated on the Royal Academy of Arts. Under that anagram pseudonym, he sent them a work of art for a gallery show but it was rejected. (We all see where this is going.) He then turned around and re-sent it as himself. To quote Banksy: “It’s now hanging in gallery 3.”

Here’s the art, note the balloon:

Authenticity is either dead or never existed.