Ontario police are trying to dispell the rumour that a widely-shared video from this week has any connection to the repeat offender who happily adopted the nickname of Toronto's Joker, and who is still very much wanted on a Canada-wide warrant.

The clip, posted to socials on Monday, shows multiple cops cars surrounding a criminal who many — media platforms included — believed to be Michael Stamatakos, a local 32-year-old who has become known for his heavily-inked mugshot.

But, the Durham Regional Police Service has confirmed that the video in question does not depict Stamatakos, and has nothing to do with the case.

"We are aware of this video," a member of the force told blogTO Tuesday afternoon. "This incident occurred in Oshawa on Sunday and has nothing to do Michael Stamatakos. We do not have him in custody."

Please be advised this information is incorrect. We have not arrested this male. This situation is unrelated to him. Thank you

— Durham Regional Police (@DRPS) October 31, 2023

Ontario Provincial Police first issued a call for information on the perpetrator's whereabouts back in February when he was due to be serving a two-year sentence for arson, damage to property, flight from a peace officer and a handful of other crimes.

The PSA ended up going viral due to Stamatakos's very unique and eye-catching tattoos, which litter his entire face and are themed after comic book villain The Joker.

While he was eventually apprehended by the force's Repeat Offender Parole Enforcement (ROPE) Squad in Hamilton in March, the man was back on the loose as of October 18, when ROPE issued yet another Canada-wide warrant.

His flight from authorities not just one, but multiple times prompted residents to wonder how law enforcement wasn't able to track down someone so noticeable — and even Stamatakos himself got to mocking the force's manhunt on TikTok under the username "torontosjoker."

Shouldn’t be too hard to spot!

— Judy Martin 🟠 (@kushogqueen) October 18, 2023

But, while the joke appeared to be over based on yesterday's footage, the Joker saga continues.

Racking up more than 563k views, 8k likes and hundreds of comments on Tiktok in a day's time, the video shows a dramatic arrest of someone at gunpoint in Oshawa, with the suspect emerging from a home and backing up slowly into the middle of the road, as instructed, with his hands on his head.

The crowd gathered around the scene — many of them giggling and joking — seemed to lend credence to the rumour as well.

The original poster has since removed any caption or tags associating the video with the wanted man, and has turned comments off.