The viral rumor that Kanye West is trying to get a city to rename itself 'Ye' appears to be completely false

• Reports of Kanye West giving money to Rye, New York, to rename it "Ye" surfaced Thursday.
• Insider spoke with the city's court and several business owners, and the story seems to be a rumor.
• Still, Rye residents and others on social media shared their thoughts on the name change.

Twitter is in a frenzy over a recent report that Kanye West is trying to get the city of Rye, in Westchester County, New York, to rename itself "Ye," but it appears to be nothing more than a rumor.

On Thursday morning, local media outlet the Rye Record reported that West had been "spending an increasing amount of time in Rye, New York," a suburb about 30 miles north of New York City, and that he has even filed paperwork to shorten the name to Ye - the rapper's nickname and the title of his 2018 album.

The Record reported that West's proposal offers the city 10% of his wealth to "erase both the city and school bond debt in full" in exchange for the name change.

The local news site quoted an anonymous source, who they say is close to West.

"Kanye isn't into LA's fakeness right now," the source reportedly told The Record of West's rumored move to Rye. "People are so quick to judge him and [he is] a really sensitive dude. He needs to live somewhere where people don't care that he's famous."

The Record also reported that West was spotted with realtors looking at three separate properties in the area with plans to create a home, a "music studio/creative think-tank," and a new church for his Sunday Services.

All information was reportedly told to the Record by sources who requested anonymity.

The Rye Record did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment regarding their report.

Insider contacted the city and several business owners, who knew nothing of West's reported 'Ye' proposal

When asked about the paperwork that the Rye Record says was filed by West, a representative at Rye's city court told Insider that they "have not received any papers to that effect."

City Hall did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment or a record request filed.

According to the Rye Record, one of the properties West was scouting is in a building that's currently being leased by the Rye YMCA as part of an ongoing expansion. However, Rye YMCA's executive director Gregg Howells told Insider that he hadn't heard any information about West until friends sent him The Record's story this morning.

"We haven't heard anything about it," Howells told Insider. "We're in the midst of preparing a build out for some new programming there."

There is still signage in front of the building indicating the property is still available, but Howells says it is outdated and the Rye YMCA is currently preparing to utilize the space.

"So if Kanye's coming to town, we haven't heard about it yet," he said, through laughs.

Sharing a parking lot with that building is the Rye Free Reading Room. Insider spoke with the library's director, Chris Shoemaker, who similarly said he hadn't heard anything about West coming to Rye.

The Record also reported that West is a fan of local ice-cream shop Longford's. The shop's owner, Christine Santorelli, told Insider that she hasn't personally seen West in the small ice-cream parlor, but that doesn't necessarily mean he hasn't been there.

"There's been news like Justin Timberlake was here a couple of summers ago and the driver used to grab the ice cream," Santorelli said.

The unverified report picked up steam on social media, where people - and Rye residents specifically - shared some thoughts

The employees and business owners Insider spoke with welcome the idea of a new neighbor.

"We're gonna be on the lookout for him!" Santorelli said. "It's not uncommon for [celebrities] to rent a summer home or a second house [in the area]."

Though he didn't comment on the Rye-to-Ye name-change aspect of the rumor, Shoemaker said, "If Kanye is looking at purchasing properties in Rye, we'd welcome him as a resident and a library cardholder."

The Rye Record's report circulated more widely online after it was picked up by Talk of the Sound, another local news outlet serving the southern Westchester area.

Some Rye natives aren't sure how to feel about it, with one person tweeting, "Rye is my hometown. Hard to imagine it becoming Ye town with Kanye West moving in..."

Others are excited and have even offered to babysit the four kids the rapper shares with Kim Kardashian, who filed for divorce from West in February.

Some others were already convinced it's just a joke.

Representatives for West did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.