Fabricated image of Hurricane Helene flooding spreads online

"Gatlinburg, Tennessee today," says a September 29, 2024 X post sharing an image of a flooded mountain town strewn with tree branches and waterlogged vehicles.

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Screenshot of an X post taken October 3, 2024

The image spread elsewhere on social media, including on Facebook.

Helene made landfall September 26 on the Florida Panhandle as a massive Category 4 hurricane, stranding residents, destroying homes and knocking out power for millions of people. The National Weather Service warned of "catastrophic and potentially life-threatening" flooding as the storm headed inland.

More than 210 people are confirmed dead after the storm tore across the Southeast, officials said October 3. A compilation of official figures by AFP confirms 212 fatalities across North and South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. 

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has deployed disaster response teams to several states -- including Tennessee, where rivers swelled from heavy rainfall and destructive flooding hit several communities.

However, the image shared online does not show damage in the city of Gatlinburg -- it was fabricated with artificial intelligence.

"This was NOT Gatlinburg yesterday," the city said September 29 on X (archived here).

In another response to a post sharing the image, Gatlinburg's official account said: "This is an AI photo and not real." (archived here).

The Meta AI logo appears in the lower left-hand corner corner of the picture, indicating it was generated using the company's synthetic image creation tool (archived here).

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Screenshot of an X post taken September 3, 2024, with elements highlighted by AFP

Local news reports indicate the mountain town was largely spared from major damage, and tourism officials say businesses are open.

"We're receiving several enquiries from potential visitors about conditions in Gatlinburg," the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau says on its website (archived here).

"Our businesses were unaffected by the recent hurricane and Gatlinburg welcomes those who can safely travel using open, clear routes."

The bureau noted in an October 1 X post (archived here) that "while Gatlinburg was fortunate to not be flooded and is open, many around us were severely impacted."

AFP has fact-checked other misinformation about Hurricane Helene here.