A San Francisco Bay Area animal shelter said it has been flooded with phone calls after a fake AI-generated photo claiming one of its dogs would be euthanized went viral.<\/p>\n
Officials with San Jose Animal Care and Services issued a warning to the community on Monday about the photo, which was posted on the Facebook group “Saving Shelter Dogs from Euthanasia,” which has more than 123,000 followers.<\/p>\n
The post claimed a dog named “Lumi” was at risk of being put down and used the dog’s name and ID number but included an AI-generated photo of a different dog, the shelter said.<\/p>\n
“This is completely false. Lumi was not at risk of being euthanized, has already been adopted and is in a permanent home,” Animal Care and Services said in a Facebook post<\/a>.<\/p>\n The shelter said the post led to what they described as a “high volume” of phone calls and messages.<\/p>\n “While we appreciate the community’s concern, misinformation creates unnecessary alarm and takes staff time away from caring for animals currently in our shelter,” officials added.<\/p>\n According to the shelter, the page has previously shared false information about other animals in its care, using unrelated and AI-generated images.<\/p>\n Animal Care and Services urged the community to rely on the shelter’s official social media channels and webpages for information about pets up for adoption.<\/p>\n