By now, the video has been seen tens of millions of times. The internet is enamored; how can you not be?
The short clip shows a group of dogs in China who were purportedly captured to be eaten but escaped and made the long journey home as a merry band of misfits – including a golden retriever, an injured German shepherd, and a brave corgi leading the way.
The problem: It’s not real. Though the original clip is authentic, showing seven dogs wandering down the side of a highway in northeastern Jilin province, Chinese state media has since debunked the narrative of their escape and journey home.
Still, the imagined tale has taken on a life of its own. Social media users have likened…