Comedian Joe Lycett has admitted he was behind a Wizard of Oz-themed artwork in Birmingham that was compared to works by Banksy – one of several fake news stories he planted in the media in recent weeks.
The 35-year-old comic says the false Dorothy was one of a number of untrue tales he managed to sneak into several established media outlets in recent weeks.
Speculation about the authorship of the piece – which appeared to mimic Banksy’s style of integrating their artwork into the surrounding environment – even forced the artist’s spokesperson to issue a blunt denial they were responsible.
Lycett revealed his trickery on his new series of Late Night Lycett on Channel 4 on Friday night.
He said he planted the Banksy story, as well as three other fake new stories, to take up space in the media that would otherwise have been used to ‘spread hate, misery and pictures of Amanda Holden‘.
The Daily Ozmapolitan 