Viral image of flooded Tennessee street is AI-generated | Fact check

A Sept. 30 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a flooded street in a mountain town.
“Gatlinburg, Tennessee today,” reads the post’s caption.
The post was shared more than 400 times in four days. The image was also shared on Facebook and on X, formerly Twitter.
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The image was generated using artificial intelligence, according to an expert and an AI-detection tool.
Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend on Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane, killed at least 184 people as of Oct. 3 and caused widespread flooding across many Southeastern states, including Tennessee.
However, the image in the Facebook post purporting to show Gatlinburg inundated by flood water is not real.
The picture is “a very poorly rendered AI image that is cartoon-like in appearance,” Walter Scheirer, an engineering professor at the University of Notre Dame and an AI expert, told USA TODAY.
“It is not even remotely plausible as a real scene,” Scheirer said. “The text on the signs on the buildings is nonsensical and the vehicles look more abstract than real. I can’t imagine anyone mistaking this image as being real.”
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The image also shows parts of cars disappearing and buildings in the background blending into the trees. AI generators struggle to produce legible text and often contain inconsistencies throughout images.
Hive Moderation’s AI detector found the image was 99.6% likely to be AI-generated.
Gatlinburg was not seriously impacted by the storm, and the area remains open to tourists, according to Knox News.
“Our businesses were unaffected by the recent hurricane and Gatlinburg welcomes those who can safely travel using open, clear routes,” reads a notice on the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau website.
USA TODAY was unable to reach out to the user who shared the post for comment.
PolitiFact also debunked the claim.
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