Louis Tomlinson became a dad to baby Freddie back in January.
However, One Direction fans have spent the past year cultivating a conspiracy theory that suggests the baby is either a doll or doesn't actually exist at all.
The theory goes as far back as May last year, when a Twitter account was created with the username @BrianaFacts.
Two days later, Louis and Briana were pictured leaving a club together. Fans have tracked down a paparazzi video from that night, where at 29 seconds a paparazzo can be heard saying: "This one's for The Sun."
Sure enough, this was the image The Sun used on their front page when they confirmed the pregnancy two months later.
During a show exactly one month after the pair were photographed together, Louis threw a toy doll off the stage saying: "It's not real!" Babygaters take this as a foreshadowing.
The next interesting detail comes in November 2015. Ann-Marie Samson, head of Syco PR, gave birth to twins in LA. Louis was also in LA at this time. Note the length of his hair here. It becomes important later.
In January, Freddie was born. However, even the tweets surrounding the birth have been called into question.
Many fans have noticed that Louis usually leaves a space between the end of a word and an exclamation mark, like this.
The insinuation is that Louis had not posted the tweet himself.
@Louis_Tomlinson this is so modest louis always tweets a space between them exclamation marks bye
But it wasn't just the exclamation marks that created suspicion, but the time and wording of the tweet too. Briana Instagrammed an image of her with Freddie alongside the caption: "1/21/2016 Freddie Reign. Love of my life."
But Louis's announcement arrived on 23 January 2016 and said Freddie had arrived "yesterday".
But then people began looking in more detail at Briana's photos and things got even more wild.
First of all, fans spotted this image, shared by a friend of Briana's on Twitter. It was posted alongside the caption: "Briana just sent this to me! I'm so excited for this little one!"
However, this exact image was posted on a completely unrelated lifestyle blogger's account long before Freddie was born.
And people were quick to point out the similarities between Amber's photo (left) and Briana's (right).
Another Tumblr user drew comparisons between the images on Briana's Instagram and those from the account of a YouTuber, Roxetera.
This user found this image of Roxetera holding a baby wearing blue, wrapped in a stripy blanket, from months ago...
And compared it with this image Briana shared on Instagram.
She also compared the eye colour in the image posted on Briana's Instagram with previous paparazzi photos taken of her.
And, finally, she compared the profile of Roxetera with the image posted on Briana's Instagram.
A different Tumblr user compared the first photo of Freddie with one of the son belonging to the aforementioned AnnMarie Samson from Syco.
The photos of Briana leaving the hospital were analysed, too, with this user disputing whether she'd even had a baby because most women in the US are put into wheelchairs when leaving after giving birth.
And they were quick to suggest that these paparazzi photos, taken on private property, were set up in a bid to con the world into thinking Louis had just become a dad.
Even the birth certificate has been disputed.
But things got even more complicated when the first photo of Louis with Freddie was released.
Immediately people were suspicious about the fact that the image was in black and white – which makes photo distortion easier – when the rest of his feed is not.
People set about experimenting with the levels on Photoshop, to argue whether the baby had been superimposed on to the photo, because it appears Freddie isn't touching Louis in it.
Other fans went a step further, finding this old photo of Louis and overlaying it on to the new image to suggest that the supposed doctoring took place this way.
It's a theory that several people have gone with.
But some think it's not even Louis in the image – mainly because the tattoo of half a heart he has on his chest isn't visible in the photo of him and Freddie.
This second photo also sent everyone into a frenzy.
The first issue of contention was the fact that Louis' hair looked considerably shorter in the photo than it was when he was photographed at the time the image was posted.
But the general feeling seems to be that the entire image is photoshopped. This theory starts with his tattoos.
Many people have suggested that if it really was Louis in the photo, other tattoos (including the dagger on his forearm and the number 28 on his fingers) would be visible.
In fact, some fans think that the decision to have Louis shirtless in every photo of him and Freddie is a deliberate attempt to prove it is Louis because of his tattoos.
Some people think that Louis's head has been photoshopped in, using this image of actor Horacio Pancheri and his son. Many fans have noticed the likeness between Horacio and Louis.
It is pretty uncanny.
This Tumblr user has analysed three sections of the image, not only to suggest that it isn't Louis's face but also to highlight an issue with the tattoos.
The other way fans are attempting to prove that the images are entirely doctored is to convert the image to reveal the areas that have been edited most. And in this case, the areas are Louis's head, chest, and arms.
This image is also being analysed.
The main thing troubling fans here is the size of Louis's hands. Several fans have overlaid other images of Louis's hands on to the image to show the difference in size.
And they've also tried this trick again to attempt to prove editing.
But the final observation – that the baby's eyes have been closed in almost every photo – brings us on to the next theory: That the baby is actually a doll.
This theory is rooted in the fact that the baby's hands have been in the same position in every photo released so far.
Paparazzi photos have been analysed to argue that the baby's eyes are always closed.
And extensive research has gone into how realistic baby dolls can be made to look with makeup.
As well as suggesting that photos of Freddie are always in black and white to make the "doll" look more natural.
But by far the most uproar was caused by this image.
Many have suggested that the rigidity and angle of the feet looks unnatural. Furthermore, it's been argued that "no two-month-old" is able to splay their toes like this.
And comparisons have been drawn between an image search of "baby feet" and Freddie's feet.
And, finally, a search for "baby doll feet".
Told you it was wild.
