Rhode and Hunter AI media incident — Oct 2026
Viral AI-generated images and videos depicting a fake collaboration between Rhode makeup and Hunter boots misled social media users into believing the product.
- Reported date
- Oct 14, 2026
- Target
- Rhode and Hunter
The exact incident date was not established. This entry is dated by its source report.
Social media users were recently misled by viral AI-generated content depicting a fictional collaboration between beauty brand Rhode and footwear company Hunter. The realistic mockups led many to believe that a new product line featuring lip-gloss-holding rain boots was actually hitting the market.
What happened
The deceptive content, which included both photos and videos, was originally created by @claure_studio. The mockups featured Hunter’s classic rubber rain boots reimagined in Rhode makeup-inspired color palettes. To increase the perceived authenticity of the collaboration, the creator added a specific design detail: a slot on the boot shaft intended to hold lip gloss. This feature was a direct reference to Rhode’s popular phone cases designed to carry its peptide lip treatment, a product famously mentioned in a Justin Bieber song.
While the original posts from @claure_studio were labeled as AI, the images were subsequently reshared by other accounts across the internet. Many of these secondary posts omitted the AI disclosure, causing confusion among viewers. Commenters engaged with the content as if it were a legitimate product announcement, prompting some to search for the collaboration. A simple Google search confirmed that no such partnership exists between the two brands. Rhode, which was acquired by E.l.f. Beauty in a $1 billion deal, has not yet released a collaborative collection with a fashion brand, while Hunter continues to engage in legitimate partnerships with other labels.