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FACT BRIEF

Did the Alabama Power Company warn people to stay out of a company lake because of flesh-eating bacteria?

By Kaiyah Clarke
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NO

The Alabama Power Company released an authentic statement directly debunking a social media post that carries a fake news release. Although the social media post is made to look like an official company document, the signature -- "Anthony Gotchagain" -- is a clear giveaway that the document is not genuine.

The post falsely claims that necrotizing fasciitis -- also known as flesh-eating bacteria -- was found in the power company's Lewis Smith Lake.

A public relations representative with the power company responded to Lead Stories with:

"A prank Facebook post warning residents to stay out of Smith Lake this summer is fake. Smith Lake and the rest of our company's lakes around Alabama are open as normal. We encourage visitors to observe the usual safety guidelines."

Lewis Smith Lake is part of the power company's system of reservoirs and recreational waterways.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Alabama Power Scam alert: Facebook post targets Smith Lake boaters, swimmers
Centers For Disease Control Necrotizing fasciitis
Alabama Power About Smith Lake
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.