The statement, attributed to the non-existent “Yorkshire Police” force, read: “Officers are aware of a number of reports regarding a suspicious figure described as a ‘Cat in the Hat’ seen walking in the Meadowhall area at approximately 2.30am this morning.
“A member of the public in the area took the below photo and has forwarded it to us. We are taking this matter seriously, and extra patrols are in the area. While there is no cause for alarm at this time, we are asking everyone to remain vigilant.”
In response, the South Yorkshire Police said they had received no reports about “a Cat in the Hat” or “his associated Thing One and Thing Two”, two characters who appear in the Dr Seuss story.
‘Don’t believe everything you read on social media’
A spokesman for the police force added: “On a serious note, if you do see posts online providing policing updates and advice, please check that they are from an official policing account. The cat is not out of the hat on this one … we don’t have a new account or a new logo. Please don’t believe everything you read on social media.”
The viral trend is reminiscent of the “Killer Clown” craze in 2016, which involved false reports of suspicious clowns near schools, woodland and remote areas across the world.
A spokesman for the police in Wexford said last week: “In an unusual turn of events, we are hearing a lot about an elusive Dr Seuss character doing the rounds online, apparently causing havoc in neighbourhoods and towns across the country.
“Fortunately, we can rule out the issue, which is essentially an AI [artificial intelligence] prompt that places the character into images/videos of familiar places.
“To be clear, the Cat in the Hat was not in your driveway while you were out and he is not currently hiding out in Curracloe.”
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