Build a Bear

Many TikTok users were fooled by satire. What happened: TikTok users are citing AI-generated images, originally shared by a popular Facebook satire page, as evidence that popular stuffed animal chain Build-A-Bear has undergone a “satanic” rebrand and is offering a new line of “Baphomet Bears.” Baphomet is a pagan deity that the Knights Templar were accused of worshiping. It later became an occult symbol used by groups including the Church of Satan. A closer look: The AI-generated images, first fact-checked by USA Today originally come from a March 27, 2024, post by the self-described satire Facebook page “The Pumpkin Express,” which boasts 123,000 followers. A Build-A-Bear spokesperson told NewsGuard in an April 2024 email that the chain “currently does not, has not, nor has any plans to offer the products or services in question.”