Does video show ‘humanoid’ robot in London? We inspected

In February 2026, a video (archived) circulated online purportedly showing a “humanoid robot” in London. 

The clip, recorded in the Hoxton area of East London, showed the “robot” interacting with young people whom appeared to be students, answering questions about its name and creator.

One person who shared the footage on X wrote, “Meanwhile, in London.. an AI humanoid was seen walking the streets and was surrounding by intrigued school kids. Spooky.”

(X user @KieraDiss)

The video of the alleged robot also circulated on YouTube and TikTok.

Though the context of the footage was unclear as of this writing, it did not appear to show a “humanoid robot,” meaning a robot modeled after the human body. Rather, it appeared to show a woman in a costume, given that at around the 00:28 mark of the version circulating on X, the woman briefly broke character and laughed. 

The “robot” in the video appeared to be a version of “Joy” — an invention that AI company Joyous AI described as “The World’s First Indistinguishable from Human, Humanoid Robot.” Joyous’ Instagram profile posted several videos of their “robot” appearing across London.

Snopes contacted Callum Scott, who described himself as Joyous’ chief robotics officer on LinkedIn, for more information about “Joy.” When reached by phone, Scott deflected a question about whether “Joy” was actually a human and referred us to the company’s spokesperson, who had not commented by the provided deadline.

We also contacted the TikTok user Eduard Constantin, who recorded three videos of “Joy,” to ask for his assessment of the “humanoid robot.” We will update this article if he responds. One of Constantin’s videos showed “Joy” making more human-like movements (at around the 0:27 mark), such as rubbing her hands together.

Due to a lack of reliable confirmation about what the footage showed, we have left this claim unrated.

At the time of this writing, Joyous was advertising an event, titled “Joy In The Flesh” on Feb. 27, 2026, in London. It appeared the company would unveil “Joy” at this event.

It was unclear why the company decided to do a walkabout with “Joy” in Hoxton in February 2026. The videos circulating online showed the “robot” in Purcell Street and Pitfield Street.

In 2023, passersby also spotted “humanoid robots” at London Bridge train station (archived), also in the U.K. capital. These “robots” were humans in costume carrying out a promotion for the sci-fi movie “The Creator.”

In early February 2026, the tech publication “rest of the world” reported that 90% of the world’s humanoid robots are produced in China. The industry in the country is highly developed, with companies even putting on all-robot soccer matches. 

Sources