Is the viral video of Erling Haaland getting startled by his reflection real? Here’s the surprising truth

A video that’s said to show Norwegian football ace Erling Haaland getting scared after he spots his own reflection in a restaurant mirror has gone pretty viral on social media. It's been shared millions of times, and a lot of people in the comments seem convinced it’s a real moment, like a genuine reaction from the Manchester City forward.

But if you look more closely at the actual footage, the situation gets murkier. Several fact-checkers, AI detection tools, and even finding an earlier version of the clip, one that includes another person instead, all point to the same thing: this viral moment is not authentic. it also looks like it’s been digitally edited around so it would look like Haaland in particular.

Erling Haaland video shows signs of AI manipulation, fact-check finds

The claim began circulating after a short clip showed a man appearing to be Erling Haaland eating at a restaurant before suddenly reacting to his reflection in a nearby mirror.

The unusual moment quickly caught attention online and was widely reposted across different platforms.

According to a fact-check published by Newschecker, there is no evidence that Haaland ever shared the video or appeared in it. A review of the footballer’s official social media accounts did not uncover any connection to the clip. Newschecker also noted that several users in the video’s comment sections had already raised concerns, describing it as AI-generated, manipulated, or face-swapped content.

The outlet further reported that the video was examined by the Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU) of TIA, which includes Newschecker. A screengrab from the footage was analysed using WasItAI, which suggested the image was possibly AI-generated. Another tool, Image Whisperer, detected signs of editing in the same screengrab.Additional checks showed results that were kind of similar. Newschecker said that Undetectable AI looked at the footage and judged it as probably AI made, with 58% confidence.

At the same time, Fake Image Detector flagged the visuals as computer generated or at least modified, you know. Taken together, these outcomes increased worries that the video was digitally altered, not actually capturing a real-life moment.

Original TikTok video points to face-swapped Erling Haaland clip

The strongest evidence came from tracing the video’s origin.During its investigation, Newschecker conducted a reverse search and found a longer version of the footage posted on TikTok by user @jinlongqiuqiu. The original video featured a completely different individual performing the exact same actions seen in the viral Haaland clip.The setting, body movements, facial expressions, timing, and sequence of events matched closely. The only noticeable difference was the face. This strongly suggested that the viral version had been altered using AI face-swapping or a similar editing technique to replace the original person’s face with Haaland’s. Other fact-checking organisations reached the same conclusion. Reviews of the footage found visual irregularities often associated with AI-generated content, including inconsistencies in facial details and unnatural image distortions.

A few independent checks also put the clip in the “probably AI made or digitally messed with” bucket, you know. From what we can see right now, the viral video really does n't seem to genuinely show Erling Haaland reacting to his reflection. The fact that there is an earlier video with a different person, plus several AI detection outputs that flag the same issues, suggests the footage got edited on purpose, to make it look real in a way that is not. And there is no confirmed proof tying Haaland directly to the original recording either.