Viral photo of 'world's darkest child' debunked

Hyderabad: An image of the "world's darkest baby" from South Africa has gone viral on social media. The image has been a matter of concern since June 2015. On the one hand, people cannot get over the cuteness of the baby but on the other, they suspect whether it is even a real baby.

Meanwhile, the photo has gone viral once again.

A Facebook user shared the photo with the caption, "World's darkest child in South Africa."

The photo is also being shared on Instagram with similar claims.

Fact Check

NewsMeter performed a reverse image search and found the photo on Etsy. According to the description, it is a "Baby Sculpted Polymer Clay Monkey Gorilla Doll Poseable Miniature."

The description read, "Cute little gorilla girl hand sculpted from polymer clay. She has lots of detail which is hard to capture in pictures. This little cutie measures approximately 5.5 inches. She has a soft body made from a white cotton fabric that is filled with tiny pellets. Her head and arms and legs are all moveable which allows for many cute poses."

Anyone can fall for the aww appeal of this image regardless of whether it's a baby or a doll.

We performed a keyword search in order to find the creator of the doll and fount the artist who creates these little bundles of cuteness. The doll was made by Lilah Pearson in her collection 'Breath of Heaven'. Digging a little deep, we found her Pinterest account with many similar creations.

The same collection can be seen on eBay as well.

The viral post also claims that the baby has been mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records. We ran a keyword search and found nothing about the same.

It is evident that the photo of a doll is being shared as the "world's darkest baby." Hence, the claim is false.