On Sunday, Tropical Storm Hilary made its way through Southern California. Many took to social media to share updates as heavy rainfall hit parts of Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire.
As the afternoon progressed, memes began to mix their way into social feeds, blending on-the-scene reporting with jokes about the aftermath of the hurriquake.
Many Twitter users quickly began to share a video that left many debating if Dodger Stadium had flooded.
Dodger stadium this morning #Dodgerstadium #dodgerblue #copterpilot #dodgerlife #dodgers #dodgertown #doyers #blueheaven #LA #LADodgers #playball #losangelesaerial #dodgeraerial pic.twitter.com/FFZ7OMZ8Ti
— Los Angeles Dodgers Aerial Photography (@DodgerAerial) August 21, 2023
Dodger Stadium is an island. pic.twitter.com/g2mQrKzgS3
— Don Van Natta Jr. (@DVNJr) August 21, 2023
Many were convinced that Dodger Stadium had become an island, but it was an optical illusion of the water and light hitting the concrete parking lot.
Aerial footage of Dodger Stadium on Monday, August 21, 2023. (Dean Musgrove, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
What people thought happened to Dodger Stadium vs. What actually happened https://t.co/Y3Zkbh4h4A pic.twitter.com/LVLCrI1cFq
— Militant Angeleno (@militantangleno) August 21, 2023
The amount of people thinking Dodger Stadium flooded and haven’t grasped that what they are looking at is simply water on the blacktop / concrete parking lots is alarming. It’s wet concrete.
— David Rosenthal (@_therealdrose) August 21, 2023
If you see this photo floating around of a supposedly flooded Dodger Stadium, take a second and ask yourself: “Self. Why isn’t the field flooded?”
It’s a wet parking lot.
Carry on. #cawx #TropicalStormHilary pic.twitter.com/cRIqRyeAa4
— Scott (@ChaseTheWX) August 21, 2023
i couldn’t find one meteorologist confirming the dodger stadium photo. if it had really flooded, there would be multiple outlets sharing their own images and footage
— Catherine Tinker (@catherinetinker) August 21, 2023
Hate the dodgers as much as the next guy but this is
1- very good angle that is an illusion
2- an old photo from previous years or something
If dodger stadium was flooded every single media outlet would be going crazy and it would be all over people’s stories https://t.co/1p2ive5SVM
— ARTE LEAVE (@arteleave) August 21, 2023
It may look like it is flooded, but it is probably less than an inch of water. Dodger Stadium is built on a giant hill. The asphalt there is very uneven, and looks wavy when wet. You can still see some of the parking lot lines and triangular flower beds. pic.twitter.com/XiJY9epgDp
— Matthew Jones (@mattjones0000) August 21, 2023
Some believed that the videos weren’t real to begin with but rather AI generated images.
The flooded Dodger stadium pic was definitely AI.
— Halli Borgfjord (@HalliB) August 21, 2023
The Dodgers even posted to social media to make light of the situation while also reassuring everyone that the stadium was fine.
Dodger Stadium trending? We get it. It looks beautiful this morning. pic.twitter.com/oIrZjndZoZ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 21, 2023
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Dodger Stadium flooding was not the only moment to cause confusion on social media.
Some Twitter users posted videos from various parts of the Universal Studios Hollywood “World-Famous Studio Tour” claiming to be the aftermath of Hurricane Hilary. While the flash flood portion of the ride on the western set and Bruce the shark jumping out of the lake for the Jaws portion of the ride were easier to catch, some fell for a tweet stating that a Metro Station on Wilshire/Vermont had flooded.
The LA Metro Station on Wilshire/Vermont is flooding from the storm pic.twitter.com/q1epV601xl
— Mexican Rug Dealer (@DealinRugs) August 20, 2023
Video of a great white shark swimming by a flooded gas station in LA #HuricaneHilary pic.twitter.com/CVyPjwFkVa
— will (@willsandercock) August 21, 2023
Widespread damage and flooding are already being reported at Universal Studios today. pic.twitter.com/Ys0P6AysUf
— DERICK+ (@esplanerd) August 20, 2023
The video instead shows an interactive part of the ride that mimics an earthquake in a subway station. Initially, the portion of the ride was created as a reference to the 1974 film “Earthquake,” but has been used more recently in the FOX television series “Bones” in 2010.
Through Twitter’s Community Notes feature, many were quick to point out that the videos were actually from the popular Universal Studios attraction, with Metro Los Angeles confirming it was not an actual metro station that had been affected by the tropical storm and earthquake.
This is a ride at Universal Studios. Duh. https://t.co/rDvbwVMxtJ
— Metro Los Angeles (@metrolosangeles) August 20, 2023
Former presidential candidate Ted Cruz seemed to fall for a hoax of an image of a shark swimming on the 405 posted by Barstool Sports personality Dan Katz known as “Big Cat.” The photo has been shared over the years after natural disasters such as Hurricane Irene, Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Harvey.
After initially quote tweeting the photo and saying “Holy crap.” he replied to his initial post a few minutes later stating “I’m told this is a joke. In LA, you never know… And everyone please stay safe from the storm or otherwise.”
I’m told this is a joke.
In LA, you never know…
And everyone please stay safe from the storm or otherwise.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) August 21, 2023
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