Did a man with a large Alsatian dog rescue a pretty French girl who was being harassed by two migrants? No, that's not true: Disclaimer hashtags with the original video on TikTok say this is a "fake situation" and "mise en scène" or "staged event." It originated on the TikTok channel dedicated to showcasing the training of a Belgian Malinois dog named Red, who is featured in the scene, and the brand of canine gear bearing his name.
The video was reposted on X (archived here) on September 19, 2024. The post was captioned:
A pretty French girl is harassed by two migrants. A man and his Alsatian intervene.
Good doggie.💪🏾
This is how the post appeared at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Thu Sep 19 17:39:13 2024 UTC)
The dog breed name mentioned in the post's caption, Alsatian, is sometimes used in Britain instead of German Shepherd -- most people consider them the same kind of dog. However, the dog in the video -- Red -- has social media channels devoted to his training and in those channels he is identified as a Malinois, a breed originating in Belgium.
This skit was originally posted on Red's YouTube, Instagram and T
Regardez la concetration et le calme de Red avant d'intervenir quand je lui donne l'ordre 🐕
🥰 #redog #harnaisredog #malinois #agentcynophile #maitrechien #chien #securite #fakesituation #miseenscene
Google translates this:
Look at Red's concentration and calm before intervening when I give him the order 🐕
🥰 #redog #redogharness #malinois #dogman #dog #security #fakesituation #staged
Additional Lead Stories fact checks on false claims springing from skit videos can be found here.
