The image of a fluffy white dog cowering in a corner tugged on heartstrings across the globe.
Calls and messages from people who saw the viral Facebook post— which warned that this could be Lumi’s “final night” — inundated the San José Animal Care and Services shelter.
But almost none of it was real.
“The Facebook group ‘Saving Shelter Dogs from Euthanasia’ recently shared a false, AI-generated post claiming that our shelter dog named Lumi was at risk of euthanasia,” the city of San José Animal Care and Services said in its own social media post. “This is completely false. Lumi was not at risk of being euthanized, has already been adopted and is in a permanent home.”
Shelter officials confirmed that they previously did have a dog named Lumi and the post included its correct ID number, but nothing else was accurate.
The city called the post “misinformation” and said the Facebook page has previously shared false information about its shelter animals. It said the whole page “appears to be AI-generated.”
“While we appreciate the community’s concern, misinformation creates unnecessary alarm and takes staff time away from caring for animals currently in our shelter,” the city wrote in its statement.
Questions sent to the “Saving Shelter Dogs from Euthanasia” Facebook page were not immediately answered. It wasn’t clear who is behind the page, or why they were using artificial intelligence while purporting to spotlight real animals in need.
An employee at another California shelter confirmed that the Facebook page had also shared false information about their animals, and explained that they are only euthanized in the most rare cases. The employee spoke on the condition on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
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