Is The 'Last Giant Irish Greyhound, 1902' Photo Real Or Fake? The Viral Image Explained

A strange image purportedly taken in 1902 is shocking users across social media. The image is said to depict the last giant Irish greyhound dog towering over a man and started going viral on Facebook late last month. But is the image real? Here's what you need to know.

What Is The 'Last Giant Irish Greyhound, 1902' Image?

The last giant Irish greyhound photo first went viral on Facebook on August 31st, 2023. The sepia-colored image shows a man in an old overcoat standing in the woods next to a massive dog that appears to be double his size. The dog's legs alone seem to nearly be the same height as the man!

When the image was first shared, the caption described it as "The last giant Irish grey hound, 1902," claiming that the photograph was taken in 1902 and there are no longer giant Irish greyhounds roaming the Earth. The post gained over 82,000 reactions and 17,000 shares in a few weeks and was reposted to numerous social media sites throughout the first half of September.

Is The 'Last Giant Irish Greyhound, 1902' Photo Real?

As it turns out, the image of the last giant Irish greyhound is not real. It was purportedly created using the AI program Midjourney. In fact, the first Facebook user to post the image on August 31st posted it to the "Cursed AI" Facebook page in an attempt to make this fact known.

As the image was shared on social media throughout September, the context of it being AI-generated was mostly lost, leading some people to believe it was real. Unfortunately, there was never a known instance of an Irish greyhound of that size walking the earth. Sorry, dog lovers.

For the full history of the giant Irish greyhound, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.