A heartwarming video of seven dogs striding along a Chinese highway that captivated tens of millions online, inspiring comparisons to Disney’s Homeward Bound and a flood of AI-generated movie posters, trailers, and reunion scenes, has been confirmed to be fake, CNN states.
The authentic clip, filmed on March 15 in Jilin province by a driver, showed a Golden Retriever, a seemingly injured German Shepherd, and a Corgi leading the pack.
Many started speculating that the dogs fled a meat truck, with the Corgi circling back like a brave leader and others guarding the limping and ‘injured’ shepherd.
Seven dogs stolen from their owners have gone viral after escaping from an illegal transport truck and making their way home.
They traveled around 17 km together, led by a corgi across highways and fields, now safely back with their respective owners..???❤️ pic.twitter.com/H5VB9BQkGB
— ?o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) March 23, 2026
After going viral almost globally, the Chinese news outlets like Cover News and City Evening News, debunked it.
On the contrary, the dogs were a free-roaming villagers’ pets from a few kilometers away, and the ‘injured’ shepherd was in heat, and that is what kept drawing the pack towards her.
They had briefly disappeared from their homesteads but later returned.
This incident has since exposed the magnitude of viral clips that maybe intended to fuel misinformation in the AI era.
“Folks are trying to capitalize on existing viral content or trends,” said TJ Thomson, who is an associate professor of digital media at RMIT University in Melbourne. “Attention is money online”, he added.
He further warns that, though appearing harmless on the surface level, such fabrications and distorted viral videos, carry risks.
Unsubstantiated meat-factory narratives such as this, may negatively perpetuate racist stereotyping of the Chinese people concerning dog-meat consumption.
Critics are now cautioning against being too quick to believe such narratives that stems from ‘untruthful and unverified’ viral clips.
As creators chase clicks and views, concerns about the ability to distinguish between truth and lies may continue to be a challenging task, “When you don’t really know what to trust… that leaves you in a scary state”, Thompson reiterated