Did a viral post tell a true story about "Baby Elijah", abandoned outside a hospital at three months old, then adopted by a woman named Rachel? No, that's not true: The story, and images that came with it, did not describe real people or real events. The account that first posted the story describes its photos and stories as "AI generated", "fictional" and "not real".
The story appeared in a July 9, 2025, post on Facebook (archived here), which consisted of: what appeared to be a photo of a woman holding a baby; a photo of the same woman standing next to a young man; and the following text:
She was 24. Fresh out of college.
He was 3 months old. Left in a box outside a hospital with a note that read:
"I'm sorry. Please love him."
No one came for him.
No family. No calls. Just silence.
They called him "Baby Elijah" on the news. But everyone assumed he'd end up in the system.
Except her.
Rachel wasn't planning on being a mother. She was just volunteering at the hospital nursery.
But the first time she held him, his tiny hand curled around her finger and wouldn't let go.
Neither did her heart.
The agency told her she was too young. Too single. Too inexperienced.
She told them:
"I may not have a husband. I may not have money.
But I have love. And he needs that more than anything."
She adopted Elijah.
Her white skin and his dark brown curls drew stares.
She heard the whispers:
"Is that even her child?"
"She won't last a year."
"He'll resent her."
But they never saw the way he clung to her during storms.
Or how she worked three jobs just to afford his piano lessons.
Or how she cried when he called her "Mom" for the first time.
She raised him on courage, bedtime stories, and unconditional love.
Years passed.
Elijah grew tall, kind, brilliant.
When he turned 18, he got into Harvard. Full scholarship.
At the graduation dinner, he stood on stage and said:
"Everyone always asked where my real mom was.
Well, she's right here.
The woman who chose me when no one else would.
Who gave me a name, a home, a future.
She didn't give me life...
She saved it."
The room cried.
Rachel cried.
But Elijah just smiled and whispered in her ear:
"You're still holding my hand, Mom. And I'll never let go."
🖤💔💫
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Image source: Screenshot of post by facebook.com/jasmin.chrish)
The post garnered nearly 40,000 shares on Facebook, and was re-posted and widely-shared elsewhere (archived here and here).
The story was fake and the images were AI-generated.
The account that first posted it, "Chris and Jasmin", features an AI and fiction disclaimer in its description (archived here), which reads:
THE TOP ai video CREATOR 👋 All the Ai generated videos & photos are FICTIONAL and are NOT REAL. (No one was harmed during these videos).
