Influencers have staged birth simulations and strolls in shopping malls with the hand-crafted baby figures, known as “reborn” dolls, creating videos that have gone viral.

To some, the dolls, known as reborn dolls, provide comfort, escape or just plain fun. But politicians across Brazil have tried to pass bills banning the dolls from public spaces.

ROCKWOOD, Tenn. (WATE) — A disabled Roane County woman lost more than a thousand dollars to a reborn doll scam. Reborn dolls have been around for decades and remain popular, but when the sale of ...