Inside the hyper-realistic doll craze sweeping Brazil

Inside the hyper-realistic doll craze sweeping Brazil

Gabi Matos walks through Taquaral Lake Park in Campinas, cradling a baby in her arms and cooing softly.

But a closer look reveals the baby isn’t human — it’s a hyper-realistic doll, meticulously crafted by artists to look just like a real infant.

In Brazil, demand for these lifelike replicas, which originated in the United States in the early 1990s, has surged in recent years.

The craze has attracted criticism from both social media and Brazil's Congress.