A photograph of what appeared to be a bronze sculpture depicting a mother carrying household chores on her back has gone viral on social media, garnering millions of likes and views. The artwork, allegedly titled "La Charge" or "The Effort" and supposedly created by renowned Catalan artist Jaume Plensa, was claimed to be located at the intersection of Princesa Street and Via Laietana in Barcelona. However, the sculpture does not exist and the image was generated using artificial intelligence.
The fake sculpture quickly became the center of heated online debates about women's roles and domestic responsibilities. The AI-generated image was designed to illustrate the burden that rests on mothers' shoulders, sparking passionate discussions across various social media platforms. Some users mocked the concept, with comments like "Yes, it's clearly the husband's fault if she, as a free citizen, chose to be a wife and mother" and "Putting clothes in a washing machine and pressing a button. It's so difficult, poor women." Others praised the message, writing "This should be installed in every city around the world! Thank you!" and "They should have put the husband sitting on top of the pile."
The first publication of this image appeared six days ago on Instagram and quickly generated nearly 40,000 likes on the Art People Gallery account. It subsequently spread to other accounts and media outlets, reaching several million views worldwide, according to Albert Cuesta, a technology expert with Catalan media Ara. The image's viral nature demonstrates how AI-generated content can rapidly spread across social media platforms without proper identification.
Jaume Plensa's studio confirmed they had no knowledge of where the image originated and clarified that the work was not created by the famous sculptor. "We don't know where it came from. We first saw it on Instagram and responded to that account to clarify the situation, then it appeared on Facebook and it became uncontrollable," explained Plensa's studio to the newspaper Ara. Art enthusiasts immediately recognized that this work could not be the creation of the Catalan artist, whose style and subject matter differ significantly from the depicted sculpture.
Local Barcelona residents also questioned the authenticity of the image, noting that the street location shown in the photograph did not correspond to the actual intersection of Princesa Street and Via Laietana. Some users recognized the AI generation and pointed this out in comments, writing "I don't think the location is correct. I've passed by this place several times and I've never seen that." Despite these observations, the image continued to spread rapidly across social media platforms.
According to technology expert Albert Cuesta, AI-generated content is typically accompanied by a banner stating "This is AI." However, the platforms themselves decide whether they want to use these markings, which explains why many users were unaware of the image's artificial origins. This incident highlights the growing challenges of identifying AI-generated content on social media and the need for better labeling systems to prevent the spread of misinformation in the art world and beyond.
