Which Awe-Inspiring Hurricane Pic You've Likely Seen Is Actually a Fake?

As with many major weather events, there's an opportunity for stunning photos. This holds true for Hurricane Sandy currently battering the East Coast. Many are taking to social media to spread pictures of the storm. However, not everything is as it seems.

TheBlaze already debunked a photo going viral on Facebook earlier today showing the Honor Guard keeping watch over the tomb of the unknown solider. It turned out the photo was really taken in September.

But how about this one showing stunning clouds over the Statue of Liberty? Although you might want to believe it was the swirling development of Sandy above New York City, the general consensus is that this image is a fake.

(Image: Facebook)

With more than 156,000 shares on the social media site, Jason Otts admitted after posting it that it was, in fact, a fake:

Ok… apparently this pic has gone viral from my wall with 99,989 shares. In the last 15 minutes I have had like 200 people add me as a friend because of this pic. So I called the person who texted it to me and she then called her friend who is in New York and he told her that it was fake. So now I have 200 friends who like a photo that is fake on my wall. Funny, but awkward….

Best advice if you come across a picture you want to share on Facebook but think it is or might be a fake, as Peter Kafka for All Things D puts it, you should indicate this in your description.

If you're unsure if a photo is a fake or not, The Atlantic's Rebecca Greenfield has a "how to" guide that will help you "think before you retweet" many of the photos going viral due to the storm. For this photo specifically, Greenfield points out that it's a superimposed image using a Nebraska tornado. The tornado photo was taken by Mike Hollingshed, according to Snopes, in 2004.

(Photo: Mike Hollinghsed via Snopes)

Greenfield also includes this photo in her post as well (below).

(Image: The Day After Tomorrow)

You might want to consider the source tweeting it (Anonymous recently put it up), but also take a good look at it. Does it ring any bells? If you've seen the apocalyptic movie "The Day After Tomorrow" in which a huge storm hits New York City, this image is a work of that Hollywood magic.

Gawker has another idea to out a fake photo: do a "reverse image search." You can do this by saving the photo on your computer. Go to Google images. Click on the photo icon and upload the photo. From there, Google will pick up photos that come close to it. You might be able to find images that were spliced together to make a surreal combination like this by using this search technique.

Update: Some Blaze readers answered our call for fake photos with a bit of humor. Here are some of the photos they think just might have been enhanced in a small way.

(Photo via Anne M.)

(Photo via Joe G.)

This one has it all. (Photo via Les W./Facebook)

If you have seen any fake photos circulating that you'd like to share, email them to lklimas@theblaze.com.