​Fans celebrated Norway’s historic World Cup run despite its quarter-final loss to England on July 12, but a video appearing to show Norwegian fans performing the “Viking row” on an airport baggage carousel is AI-generated. The clip contains visual errors indicative of synthetic content and was traced to an account that uses AI to create content.”One last Viking Row: Norway’s World Cup journey is over, but the fans marked the moment with one final Viking row at the airport,” reads part of a Chinese-language Instagram post on July 12, 2026.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe post, which garnered more than 51,000 likes, goes on to say that the team earned everyone’s respect, with hashtags including “FIFA World Cup” and “Haaland”.A 13-second video shared alongside the post shows a group of fans in Norway jerseys, hats and scarves, performing the “Viking row” on what appears to be an airport carousel while a crowd of onlookers watched on.Text overlaid on the video reads “Norwegian fans perform the ‘Viking row’ one last time — showing they can take a loss in stride while standing firm to the very end.”Screenshot of the false Instagram post taken on July 13, 2026, with a red X and AI label added by AFPThe clip circulated in Chinese and multiple other languages across social media platforms after Erling Haaland’s side lost 2-1 to England in extra time in the World Cup quarter-finals in Miami — their best result in the competition after a 28-year absence (archived here and here ).AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementSocial media users commented that “the Norwegian team with the best sportsmanship” and “they had a great time in all games.””I appreciate them. They lost the game, but super classy and loving,” another comment reads.The “Viking row” draws on old Norwegian rowing traditions tied to life around fjords, lakes and the sea, according to tourism promoter Visit Norway ( archived link ).Since the start of this year’s World Cup, social media has been flooded with videos of Norwegian fans dressed in red, white and blue.They sit down on the ground in groups. Then stretch their arms out and mimic rowing a boat. They rock back and forth in unison while chanting: “Row, row, row!”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe circulating clip is, however, AI-generated.An analysis of the video using the AI-detection tool Hive Moderation found that it was 99.9% likely to “contain AI-generated or deepfake content.”Screenshot from Hive Moderation taken on July 13, 2026, with an AI label added by AFPSeveral elements in the clip also point to it being AI-generated. The baggage carousel is turning like a merry-go-round, whereas real airport carousels are static, with only the conveyor belt moving.The ceiling and floor also appear warped, and the legs of the people sitting on the conveyor belt look elongated as the video zooms in. Several onlookers and people on the carousel also exhibit almost identical poses.Screenshots of the false Instagram post