Rumor – A mother adopts a boy and discovers he is her son who disappeared 10 years ago.
Analysis
Emotional stories involving reunions of missing family members always succeed on the internet. Even more so when these narratives are accompanied by impactful images to generate emotion and go viral on social media. Today, we are going to talk about a narrative that has been circulating online for years in several languages.
According to the content, which was even reproduced by news sites in different countries, a mother named Gabriela Suárez allegedly adopted a teenager named Tomás and later discovered he was Bernardo, her son who had disappeared 10 years earlier. The story is illustrated with emotional photos of the supposed reunion between mother and son. Here is the circulating text:
STORIES WITH A HAPPY ENDING Mother adopts a boy and discovers he is her son who disappeared 10 years ago Gabriela Suárez had a movie-worthy experience. When her son Bernardo was 3 years old, he disappeared without a trace, deeply traumatizing her and her husband. For years they tried to find him without success. Gabriela started helping associations that supported abandoned or orphaned children. Ten years after Bernardo’s disappearance, she met Tomás, 13, at one of the places where she volunteered.
The boy was very shy, but they quickly bonded and she adopted him. One day at home, she heard Tomás singing a lullaby, which he said was the song his mother used to sing to him. Gabriela was surprised, as it was the same song she used to sing to her son when he was 3 years old. Tomás was Bernardo. Investigations were conducted, and the woman who had kidnapped him was arrested, bringing happiness back to the home.
Fact-check
The content moved many users and went viral again, but it is nothing more than a fake (at least according to our investigations). Let’s answer three main questions: 1) Did a mother adopt a boy and discover he was her missing son after 10 years? 2) Do the photos show a mother who adopted her own missing son? 3) Why was the story even published by media outlets?
Did a mother adopt a boy and discover he was her missing son after 10 years?
There is no evidence that this story actually happened. A detailed analysis shows that it has typical anecdotal features: absence of a specific location where the case allegedly occurred, character names that do not appear in any other interviews (only in the same story), and texts always repeating the same version. On top of that, the images reveal the hoax.
Do the photos show a mother who adopted her own missing son?
The images used to illustrate the story have no connection to the supposed reunion between mother and son. In fact, the photos are from other cases of missing children and reunions, especially in the United States.
One of the widely shared images, for instance, is from a real case reported by 14News about a child abduction investigation in Tennessee, without any relation to “Gabriela” or “Tomás.” In other words, the story uses decontextualized images to create a false sense of authenticity.
Why was the story even published by media outlets?
Although rare, some news websites and blogs, especially those that copy content without proper verification, ended up publishing the story as if it were real. This happened because the emotional plot and lack of verifiable information misled less attentive editors. Fortunately, there are websites that reestablish the truth.
Conclusion
Contrary to what viral posts suggest, the story of a mother who adopted her missing son after 10 years completely lacks evidence. It is just another anecdotal narrative created to generate emotional engagement on social media, using decontextualized photos that even misled news website editors.
Fake news ❌
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