A Twitter account that was reported to belong to Wendi Deng, the wife of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, has been revealed as a fake.
The account, which was set up after Mr Murdoch began tweeting on New Year's Eve, had been officially verified by Twitter while the businessman's company News International had also confirmed its veracity.
Among the many messages sent via @Wendi_deng were tweets flirting with comedian Ricky Gervais. She also dismissed a fake Rupert Murdoch Twitter account as being unfunny.
While many social media users had been surprised at the appearance of Mr Murdoch on Twitter, many were fooled by the arrival of his 'wife.'
A large number of media organisations, including the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph also reported on the @Wendi_deng account, which had gained almost 10,000 followers in two days.
However, while not revealing their true identity, the person behind the account confessed to the ruse in a series of tweets earlier today.
"Hello Twitter. As News International has finally come to their senses, it's time to confirm that yes, this is a fake account. I'm not Wendi," a tweet from @Wendi-deng said this afternoon.
The individual went on to question how both News International and Twitter could fall for the spoof account and denied they were either a comedian or a journalist.
"To those of you who kept maintaining the account was fake, even after being verified, good on you for being suspicious," a tweet said.
The real Wendi Deng made headlines last year when she came to the defence of her husband after he was attacked by a stand-up comic at a parliamentary committee hearing last July.
Ms Deng leaped up and appeared to hit out at Jonathan May-Bowles with an open hand as security guards and police rushed across the room to apprehend him when he tried to throw a plate of white foam at Mr Murdoch’s face at close range.
Mr Murdoch has been married to Ms Deng for 13 years and they have two children together.
The News Corporation chairman has amassed over 89,000 followers of his own since starting his Twitter account on New Year's Eve. The media mogul has used his account to signal his support for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum and to call on President Barack Obama to tackle the education crisis in the US.
