Stolen ‘Mona Lisa’ Joke On TikTok Goes Viral, Leading To Mass Confusion

As much as we learn about the power of misinformation, it seems people are still rather susceptible to it. Thankfully, this time round, a joke on TikTok about the Mona Lisa being stolen didn’t appear to be malicious, though it did cause mass confusion for users who believed it to be true. 

User @narvanator had posted a video depicting a group of police cars driving past the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, with text reading: “POV: [you’re] in Paris when the Mona Lisa has been stolen.” 

Despite the post only being uploaded days ago, it has already garnered over nine million views and 1.9 million likes. The user then doubled down on the joke with another video, explaining that the famed painting was “gone” when he visited the Louvre with his friends. 

@narvanator Grus been at it again!! #fyp #fypシ #paris #paristiktok #monalisa #stolen #gru #despicableme ♬ original sound - Narvanator

Of course, if the Mona Lisa were indeed missing, it would’ve been much bigger news. The iconic artwork by Leonardo da Vinci remains safely hanging at the Louvre. 

According to ARTnews, the only time it was actually stolen happened all the way back in 1911, when Italian handyman Vicenzo Peruggia tried to smuggle the painting back to his country, ultimately failing to sell it off to an art dealer. 

It seems the user behind the joke is committed to sticking to the bit, recently uploading a third follow-up TikTok showing him crossing off “MONA LISA GETS STOLEN” from his own 2023 bingo card. 

@narvanator Replying to @xXKhadijahXxR PART 2: Updates on the current sitch #fyp #fypシ #paris #paristiktok #monalisa #stolen #update #gru #despicableme ♬ original sound - Narvanator

[via ARTnews and @narvanator, cover image via Darius Strazdas | Dreamstime.com]