Does a viral video really show fans filming Brazilian soccer star Neymar Jr. in the restroom? No, that's not true: Facial recognition software says it's a different person. The video features a lookalike who has spent nearly four years impersonating the soccer player.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) published by @Nowfootball on X on May 20, 2026. It read:
Neymar was out celebrating about being called up to the Brazil squad and got followed into the toilet by loads of fans😭😭😭.
The post included a video shot in a restroom. This is what a thumbnail from it looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Image source: post by @Nowfootball on X.)
The claim went viral shortly after the 34-year-old Brazilian soccer player was included (archived here) in the national team representing the country at the FIFA World Cup 2026. However, the trending clip didn't portray him.
On May 19, 2026, the same video was published (archived here) on Instagram with the hashtag:
#memes.
The clip appeared in an account whose bio line indicated (archived here) that it belonged to an actor:
(Image source: Instagram.)
This man has been known as Neymar's impersonator since 2022 (archived here).
Lead Stories ran a screenshot from the video through the Amazon Rekognition face comparison tool, which assessed that the man in the clip was not Neymar:
(Image source: Amazon Rekognition.)
