Trump surveyed Hurricane Helene damage in Georgia, but not from deep floodwaters; this image is fake

Former President Donald Trump visited Valdosta, Georgia, on Sept. 30, to see how Hurricane Helene had damaged the area. 

But an image circulating online that purportedly shows him wading through floodwaters past his knees isn’t authentic. 

Posts sharing it were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

(Screengrab from Threads)

Trump’s Georgia trip was widely covered in the media but we found no news reports to corroborate the scene pictured here, much less any other photos or video capturing the moment. 

In the image, Trump appears to be walking through sloshing water and wearing jeans, a royal blue shirt and life vest. Photos and video of Trump in Valdosta published by news outlets including The Associated Press, Getty Images, The Guardian, The New York Times, Fox News, ABC News, CNBC and NBC News show him wearing a navy blue suit, red tie, and a red Make America Great Again hat.

Trump’s campaign posted footage of him speaking from Valdosta in the same outfit. 

It’s unbelievable that the image in these social media posts would be the only such picture to exist considering that Trump’s presidential campaign draws persistent media attention.

But a little scrutiny goes a long way: Trump’s right hand appears malformed in the floodwater picture, a clue that artificial intelligence is responsible for the image.

This image was fabricated. We rate claims it was authentic False.