{"slug": "public-told-not-to-believe-viral-cat-in-the-hat-social-media-posts", "title": "Public told not to believe viral ‘Cat in the Hat’ social media posts", "summary": "Police forces across the UK and Ireland have warned the public not to believe viral social media posts featuring AI-generated images of Dr Seuss' Cat in the Hat, which falsely claim the character has been spotted in various towns. South Yorkshire Police debunked a fake statement circulating online, and An Garda Síochána in Ireland reassured the public that the character is merely an AI prompt, following reports that the posts frightened some teenagers.", "body_md": "# Public told not to believe viral ‘Cat in the Hat’ social media posts\n\n- Police forces across the UK and Ireland have responded to a viral social media craze featuring AI-generated images and videos of Dr Seuss' Cat in the Hat.\n- Mocked-up posts on platforms including TikTok, Facebook and X falsely claim the character has been spotted crouching on cars and peering into windows in various towns.\n- South Yorkshire Police debunked a fake statement circulating online that claimed officers were investigating sightings, urging the public not to believe social media rumours.\n- An Garda Síochána in Ireland also reassured the public that the character is merely an AI prompt, following reports that the posts had frightened some teenagers.\n- The viral craze comes as ministers call on social media platforms to remove dangerous content related to a separate trend involving wrong-way driving.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/public-told-not-to-believe-viral-cat-in-the-hat-social-media-posts", "canonical_source": "https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/cat-in-the-hat-sightings-social-media-police-b3038141.html", "published_at": "2026-08-24 10:49:04+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-24 11:13:00.919009+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["generative-ai"], "entities": ["South Yorkshire Police", "An Garda Síochána", "TikTok", "Facebook", "X", "Dr Seuss"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/public-told-not-to-believe-viral-cat-in-the-hat-social-media-posts", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/public-told-not-to-believe-viral-cat-in-the-hat-social-media-posts.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/public-told-not-to-believe-viral-cat-in-the-hat-social-media-posts.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/public-told-not-to-believe-viral-cat-in-the-hat-social-media-posts.jsonld"}}