QUESTION:
Is a photo of a 30-foot wave crashing on a North Carolina pier during Hurricane Jose real?
ANSWER:
No, this photo is fake.
SOURCES:
Jennette’s Pier, Google reverse image search
PROCESS:
A photo taken by local North Carolina photographer Alex Lex OBX of what appears to be a 30 foot wave crashing over Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head North Carolina, has received over 164,000 shares and 12,000 comments with most people praising how amazing the photo is.
The post was uploaded on Facebook on September 18 to highlight Hurricane Jose’s impact. But the very next day, Jennette’s Pier address the viral social media post, stating that they were experiencing high winds and waves but ocean waves never crashed over the pier as illustrated in the photographer’s picture.
A reverse search image showed the photo originated on flickr in June 2010. The photo was taken by photographer Ferenc, Sohajda and took place in Vilinjam, Kerala India.
Verify researchers could not find any contact information or a website for photographer Alex Lex OBX that uploaded the viral picture.
However a photoshopped photo of Key West during Hurricane Irma was posted on his Instagram and even boasting about the fake photo becoming trending news on Google.
