A viral video appearing to show football superstar Erling Haaland getting startled by his own reflection in a restaurant mirror has fooled thousands of social media users, highlighting how advanced AI-powered face-swapping technology has become.

The clip, which spread rapidly across X and other platforms in late June 2026, shows a man eating enthusiastically with chopsticks before suddenly noticing his reflection and reacting in apparent shock. Because the individual in the video closely resembles Manchester City striker Erling Haaland, many viewers assumed the footage captured a genuine moment involving the Norwegian football star.

However, the video is not authentic.

Investigations into the clip reveal that it was digitally manipulated using face-swapping technology. The original footage does not feature Haaland at all. Instead, it shows Chinese comedian Jin Long performing one of his trademark physical-comedy skits.

The altered version was shared by the X account @Crazymoments01 on June 29 with a caption joking about Haaland’s reaction. Within hours, the post attracted widespread engagement, with many users treating the footage as genuine.

Some viewers appeared convinced by the edit, posting humorous reactions such as, “Haaland fears no one. Only himself.” Others focused on the eating scene itself, joking about the amount of food in the character’s mouth.

The confusion illustrates how realistic AI-generated edits have become. In the manipulated clip, nearly every visual element from the original video remains untouched, including the restaurant setting, wall tiles, wiring, food tray and even the steamed bun held by the performer. The only major alterations are the face and parts of the clothing, which were digitally modified to resemble Haaland.

The source footage originated from the TikTok account @jinlongqiuqiu, operated by comedy creators Jin Long and Qiu Qiu. The pair are known across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube for short comedy sketches.