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Image of an artwork circulated claiming a person turned into a dog for insulting the Quran

Recently, several images, including one of a person, have been circulated on social media with the claim: “A person’s face turned into a dog’s face 41 days after insulting the Holy Quran. This incident happened in Libya.”

See posts circulated on Facebook with this claim here (Archive), here (Archive), and here (Archive).

See posts circulated on Instagram with this claim here (Archive).

See posts circulated on Threads with this claim here (Archive).

Fact-check

Rumor Scanner team’s investigation reveals that the circulated image is not a picture of a person in Libya whose face turned into a dog’s face due to insulting the Quran. Rather, it is an image of an artwork created in 2004 by a French-based Brazilian artist named Rodrigo Braga, which is being circulated with the viral claim.

An investigation into the matter found a report published on May 2, 2024, on the website of ‘Abir Pothi,’ an Indian news outlet covering art, architecture, and design. The report includes various attached images, one of which matches the image circulated with the viral claim. The image is identified as part of an artwork titled ‘Compensation Fantasy,’ created in 2004 by a Brazilian artist named Rodrigo Braga.

The report describes Rodrigo Braga as a contemporary artist from Manaus, Brazil. Braga’s artwork is a complex exploration of the relationship between humans and nature, where he often uses elements of animals, the human body, and personal experience, challenging the viewer’s perception and creating deep emotional reactions.

Furthermore, a website in the name of ‘Rodrigo Braga’ was found, which shows the various stages of creating the image circulated with the viral claim and states that it is an artwork created by Rodrigo Braga in 2004. In the description of the artwork’s process, it is stated that the muzzle of a dog was used in the artwork, but the artist did not kill the dog used in the artwork. The process was carried out in accordance with ‘legal permission,’ ‘hygiene,’ and ‘ethical rules.’ The dog was already under the care of the government animal control center and was awaiting adoption. Later, the government authority euthanized the dog painlessly as part of disease control, in accordance with the city’s public health regulations. Usually, the bodies of these animals are cremated. But in this case, the artist obtained permission to use the dead body in the artwork, and it was handled cleanly, legally, and ethically by a veterinarian and an assistant.

In addition, posts regarding the viral image were also found on Rodrigo Braga’s Instagram account in 2024, here and here, where he wrote that this art series, titled ‘Compensation Fantasy,’ was released on December 9, 2004. According to his bio, he is a French-based Brazilian artist. The discussed image was also found on multiple other platforms claimed to be Rodrigo Braga’s artwork. Notably, the portrait image circulated with the viral claim is also by Rodrigo Braga.

This confirms that the circulated image is, in fact, an image of an artwork.

Therefore, an image of an artwork by a French-based Brazilian artist named Rodrigo Braga has been circulated with the false claim that it shows a person in Libya whose face turned into a dog’s face for insulting the Quran.

Sources

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