AI video of man turning into a dog misleads news outlets
Graphics: Agamir Somoy
A video claiming to show a man physically transforming into a dog has generated millions of views and countless comments on social media. The footage shows an extremely dramatic transformation, sparking discussions among people and users of both domestic and international social media platforms. Questions began to emerge over whether there was actually a person who had spent a huge amount of money to permanently change his appearance.
Even mainstream Bangladeshi media outlets fell for the claim. Channel i published a report titled, “Why did Toko choose a dog's life after being a human?” ATN Bangla published a report titled, “Japanese young man spent crores of taka to leave human life and become a dog,” while Khabarer Kagoj published a report titled, “Japanese young man spent Tk 2,200 crore to turn from a human into a dog,” all using the same video.
However, the video of the dog presented in these reports as the Japanese man named Toko is not the video of Toko from 2022. It is an AI generated video.
In addition, a post on the social media page “Grenada Breaking News J.H 50” claimed that a millionaire businessman had gone through an extreme transformation after spending about $2.7 million, or $2.7 million, to take on the appearance of a dog in Japan. The claim has also been circulated with almost the same caption in many other places, further confusing users. However, the incident is not true.
Technical Analysis and the Real Facts
When still images from the video were examined using various AI detection tools, they indicated with about 78 percent certainty that the footage had been created using artificial intelligence. Although the scenes appear highly realistic, several details clearly reveal inconsistencies in the digital elements, such as sudden changes in certain parts of the scenes and unusual anatomy.
There is also no reliable record supporting the claim that a new Japanese millionaire exists who spent millions of dollars on surgery to turn himself into a dog.
The story is connected to a real incident involving a Japanese man named Toco, who attracted attention in 2022 after fulfilling his dream of looking like a dog. However, contrary to the viral claim, Toco did not undergo surgery or permanently alter his body. He spent about 2 million yen to have a custom made, highly realistic costume created to resemble a Border Collie dog. A video related to this can be found on Toco's TikTok account. However, it does not match the video being circulated.
Further investigation found that “Emisoras Unidas,” a mainstream radio station and news outlet in the Central American country of Guatemala, also published a report on the matter. It too identified the video as AI generated.
Therefore, based on all the available evidence and technical analysis, it is 100 percent certain that the viral video claiming to show a human permanently transforming into a dog was created using artificial intelligence.
