Is a dramatic photo of a tearful young girl in a boat clutching a puppy after Hurricane Helene real? No, that's not true: The AI detector TrueMedia found "substantial evidence" that the image was created using an AI image generator. There is also no evidence the photo appeared in any news coverage about the rescue efforts after the storm nor is there anything else to establish it as authentic.
The image appeared in an October 3, 2024, post on the X platform (archived here), which opened:
This picture has been seared into my mind. My heart hurts💔😭
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Oct 08 14:512:05 2024 UTC)
But the picture isn't real.
Lead Stories used the AI detection website TrueMedia.org to analyze the photo. It found "substantial evidence of manipulation" (archived here).
(Source: Truemedia.org screenshots taken on Mon Oct 7 15:48:03 2024 UTC)
Lead Stories also conducted a reverse image search to see whether the photo had been originally published by a legitimate news organization (archived here). None was found.
Other fact check agencies also have reviewed this and similar claims, including Snopes and Verify.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks concerning claims about Hurricane Helene can be found here. Fact checks about claims regarding the U.S. presidential election are here.
