Viral video that appears to show U.S. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officers pursuing a man costumed as a Viking while he rides a bathtub on wheels through Minnesota streets is not real. The clip, which had gone viral and had convinced many, has since been proven to be AI-generated.In the widely circulated video, a man dressed as a Viking with a horn helmet, faux fur collar, and a chest plate glides down a snowy street in a bathtub that is fitted with wheels while about a dozen ICE officials seem to be after him. What makes a viral clip believable is the fake TV news anchor that narrates the scene as though it were a live immigration enforcement operation in downtown Minneapolis. The fake TV news anchor said:“We are live over downtown Minneapolis where, yes, that is a protester in a Viking costume riding what appears to be a porcelain bathtub on skate wheels,15 ice agents are on his heels. But look at this, he’s pulling away. Watch the slush! Watch the slush!”The viral video quickly drew laughs and outrage amid surrounding federal immigration operations in Minnesota.Why did people think the video clip of the Viking being chased by ICE was real?The fake TV news anchor and the timing played a major role. ICE's "Operation Metro Surge," a massive federal enforcement operation that has coincided with protests, arrests, and political blowback around the state, has put Minnesota under intense national attention.Many viewers thought the viral Viking video was a funny yet actual moment from ongoing events because of the chaos in real life.Former Biden adviser Neera Tanden was amongst those who briefly fell for the video. Tanden shared the clip on X with a caption slamming the US administration, where she wrote:“50 yeas from now, people will look at this video and recognize our government had gone mad.”Later, she deleted it after its authenticity was verified.How the clip was debunked and the reactions that followedSeveral red flags were quickly pointed out by fact-checkers and internet users. The news channel broadcast in the video, “POVART,” does not exist; the timestamp on the screen reads “4:06 PHM,” which also does not exist in time formats. Character movements and crowd physics demonstrate common AI animation bugs, and finally, there were no confirmed local or national media sources that reported the incident.All these flags were pointed out, which led to the clarification of the authenticity of the video.But once the video clip was debunked, the reactions went from shock to humor and concern.The video of a Viking in a bathtub being chased by ICE is entirely AI-generated and did not happen in Minnesota or anywhere else.Stay tuned to Soap Central for more information.