Fact Check: Ai-generated photos show 'sunburn competition in New Orleans'
Claim:
Photographs shared online in June 2025 authentically depicted a sunburn competition held in New Orleans.
Rating:
In early June 2025, a collage of four striking images allegedly captured during a "sunburn competition" in New Orleans wildly spread on social media.
As of this writing, one Facebook post (archived) showing photos of people with red-hot flesh reached over 64,000 reactions, 49,300 comments, and 24,000 shares.
https://www.facebook.com/Therealkiyaaa/posts/pfbid023aeJ6bQmfmzzM7b4md93PR3cXDQSaEfouLEFDaFhQKR9PD1kkNJ727d69WfBDf5bl
The collage also spread on social media platforms including X (archived), Facebook (archived), Instagram (archived), TikTok (archived) and Reddit (archived).
"Sunburn competition in New Orleans, prize…$50 gift card to Target," one Threads user captioned the collage.
However, no evidence exists that such an event took place in New Orleans, or anywhere else in the world, in 2025. The photographs allegedly showing scenes from the purported sunburn competition displayed clear signs of being generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI) software. Additionally, when the images first circulated in 2023, the original poster admitted to having created them using AI.
For these reasons, we have rated this claim as fake.
A reverse image search and a Google search for terms such as "Sunburn Competition in New Orleans" yielded no results from credible news outlets or local media. The only references to the event came from social media users reposting the same viral collage of four images.
(Google search results)
The images had several telltale signs of being generated using AI, including unnaturally smooth and plastic-like skin texture, distorted features such as deformed feet, and body parts that appeared to dissolve into the background.
(Facebook user TheRealkiyaaa/Snopes Illustration)
What's more, as seen in the image below, the facial features in the photos were noticeably distorted. For instance, one person's hair appeared to blend into their face, and the neck and skin of another displayed unnatural shapes and textures.
(Facebook user TheRealkiyaaa/Snopes Illustration)
Such visual anomalies are common indicators that an image was created, at least partially, with the use of AI software.
An analysis conducted with Hive, an AI-detection tool, determined with 98% certainty that the images were "likely to be AI-generated."
(Hive Moderation)
This wasn't the first time these images had gone viral. In late 2023, the exact same pictures circulated online with a different caption, suggesting they depicted a "sunburn competition" in Florida. At that time, multiple fact-checking organizations, including Reuters and Logically Facts, investigated the images and found that they were created using AI.
The organizations traced the origin of the photos to a Facebook group "Cursed AI," where users often post surreal or absurd AI-generated content for entertainment purposes.
Will Cartwright, a member of the "Cursed AI" group, confirmed to Logically Facts that he was the original creator of the images, saying, "Yes, I created the images and posted them to the Facebook group Cursed AI" and adding that he used Bing Image Creator.
"'Extreme competition' posts have been very common in the group, often of situations that would be very uncomfortable, which is what gave me the idea," he told Logically Facts, explaining he used a prompt along the lines of "people competing in an extreme sunburn competition in Florida" on Bing.
A partially archived version of the original post from Aug. 1, 2023, can be found via the Wayback Machine archiving tool (see screenshot below):
(Wayback Machine)
It remains unclear, however, who originally posted the collage in June 2025, stating it depicted a sunburn competition in New Orleans.
As of this writing, the "Cursed AI" Facebook group featured several similar "sunburn competition" posts from mid-2023, with clearly AI-generated images.
(Cursed AI Facebook group)
We have investigated numerous AI-generated images in the past. For instance, in early June 2025, we debunked a photo allegedly showing a Cybertruck-like 1930 Russian or Soviet "Tarantaika," also known as "Boneshaker." We traced the roots of the picture to Facebook user who told us he created the image with the generative-AI platform Midjourney.
In another case, we analyzed a video that purported to show a helicopter pilot's view of dozens of massive anacondas swimming in a river. The footage showed clear signs of being AI-generated, including the absence of readable letters or numbers on the helicopter's control panel.
AI-Generated Images Claimed to Be of 'Extreme Sunburn Competition' | Logically Facts. https://www.logicallyfacts.com/en/fact-check/false-ai-generated-images-claimed-to-be-of-extreme-sunburn-competition. Accessed 10 June 2025.
Check, Reuters Fact. "Fact Check: Photos of Florida Sunburn Competition Are Fake." Reuters, 7 Aug. 2023. www.reuters.com, https://www.reuters.com/article/fact-check/photos-of-florida-sunburn-competition-are-fake-idUSL1N39O1RK/.
Cursed AI | Extreme Sunburn Competition in Florida. 13 Aug. 2023, https://web.archive.org/web/20230813163731/https://www.facebook.com/groups/cursedaiwtf/posts/1324157944859352/.
Hive Moderation. https://hivemoderation.com/. Accessed 10 June 2025.
Liles, Jordan. "Helicopter Video Shows Pilot's View of Massive Anacondas Swimming in River?" Snopes, 3 June 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/river-pilot-helicopter-anacondas/.
---. "Photo Shows Cybertruck-like 1930 Russian 'Tarantaika'?" Snopes, 9 June 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/russian-tarantaika-boneshaker-1930/.
"What Is Midjourney AI and How Does It Work?" Android Authority, 19 Mar. 2025, https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-midjourney-3324590/.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
34 minutes ago
- USA Today
Steelers hint at new Terrible Towel, special announcement coming next week
Steelers fans may soon get a glimpse at the 50th anniversary edition of the Terrible Towel — as a special announcement is coming next week. The official Steelers Pro Shop teased that a reveal is coming, posting an image on social media of what appears to be a close-up of the 50th anniversary 2025 Terrible Towel. Back in May, Steelers President Art Rooney II claimed a new throwback jersey was set to be revealed in July, and also hinted at a 'little celebration' for the 50th anniversary of the Terrible Towel. The Steelers debuted the Terrible Towel on December 27, 1975, in a playoff matchup against the Baltimore Colts, and it has since become a larger-than-life symbol of Pittsburgh sports — evident by its journeys to unbelievable locations such as Mt. Everest and space. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.
Black America Web
5 hours ago
- Black America Web
Bring Back Boredom: A Requiem For Black Gen X Summers
Source: iantfoto / Getty There used to be a thing called boredom. Not the kind you complain about with Wi-Fi and seven streaming platforms within reach. I'm talking about real boredom; staring-at-the-ceiling, watching-ants-on-the-sidewalk, 'ain't-nothing-on-but-soap-operas-after-The-Price-Is-Right' boredom. And as a Black Gen X dad who grew up in the era of Jheri curls, tube socks, and universal latchkey kid protocol (see: 'Don't you let nobody in this house.'), I say this without a hint of irony: boredom might have been the most important part of summer vacation. It was in that boredom that we got creative. We built worlds with nothing but imagination, bike tires, and the occasional giant cardboard box that was a clubhouse, a breakdance pad, or an art canvas, respectively. We passed long hours playing Uno or freeze tag or making up ridiculous games with equally ridiculous names. Some days were filled with activity, but just as many were left to the elements of whatever came our way. And that was the magic of it. The freedom. The chaos. The possibility. Fast forward to now, and it feels like summer, at least the kind that shaped us, is dead. We didn't kill it. Hyper-competitive parenting did. Today's kids have schedules tighter than a Silicon Valley CEO. Between travel sports, enrichment camps, accelerated reading lists, and STEM programs, we've programmed the summer to death. What was once a break has now become the offseason grind. A warm-weather bootcamp for future scholarship recipients, Google interns, and startup founders. But in all that hustle, we've stolen something essential. Summer used to be about the absence of structure. Now it's about maintaining control in a different font. Look, I get it. As a Black parent (especially a single Black father) I'm acutely aware of what the world wants to deny my kids. So we push. We prepare. We polish them up and present them as exceptional, because we know they have to be. But damn if it isn't exhausting. For them and for us. My Glee-obsessed 13-year-old daughter is starting to come into her own artistic and dramatic potential. She's in theater camp this summer, and I'm glad she has a place to explore her passion. But I'm also kind of sad. Because theater camp is scheduled. Structured. Supervised. She'll grow as a performer, sure. But will she learn how to do nothing and be okay with it? Will she know how to entertain herself with a cardboard box and a Sharpie? Will she ever just roam? My summers were a beautiful blur of spontaneity and slight danger. From the public pool to the basketball courts to random treks to corner stores with no particular purpose, our summers were self-directed chaos. Even when we were enrolled in day camp, it was mostly a teenage-led survival exercise with dodgeballs and boxed lunches. There were rules, sure. But there were also long stretches of unsupervised time. Time to be curious. Time to fail. Time to try things that might not go anywhere but still taught us something. We learned how to read people, how to handle conflict, and how to entertain ourselves and others. And we did it all without a single app. What those summers gave us was adaptability. Resilience. The ability to walk into a room with strangers and figure out what game was being played and its random rules, and then figure out how to win. They gave us improvisational skills for life. They taught us how to make lemonade from warm tap water and two sugar packets. Today's kids? They're brilliant. But some of them can't hold a conversation without checking a screen. And it's not their fault; it's the culture we've built around them. A culture that values productivity over presence, structure over soul, and outcomes over experiences. The pressure to be excellent all the time has trickled down from Wall Street to the jungle gym. And as Black dads, we often feel that pressure more acutely. We want our kids to succeed not just for themselves, but for the generations they represent. And in our fear of their marginalization, we push them toward perfection. But what happens when we forget to teach them how to sit still? To just be ? You can't push creativity on a schedule. You can't over-prepare for discovery. You have to make room for it. You have to leave space in the summer for the kind of moments that don't show up on a résumé but shape a life. Like wandering around the neighborhood for no reason. Or figuring out how to turn a laundry basket into a roller-coaster on the stairs. Or learning how to read the vibes at the basketball court before deciding whether or not to shoot your shot (metaphorically or literally) and call 'next'. I'm not anti-camp. I'm not against organized activity. But I am against the idea that kids should never be idle. That every second of every day must be accounted for, optimized, branded, and captured. I want my daughter to know that freedom isn't just something we talk about on Juneteenth—it's something you feel on a Tuesday in July with nothing to do but ride your bike and follow your thoughts wherever they lead. So I'm trying to build in blank space. Days where there's no itinerary. Where she gets to decide how the day unfolds, even if that means doing nothing at all. Because that, too, is a skill. One that too many of us are forgetting to pass down. We're raising kids in this world that moves too fast and expects too much. A world that commodifies every interest and gamifies every interaction. But if we want to raise humans, not just high-performing outputs of our parental anxiety, we have to give them time to be human. Summers are supposed to be messy and weird and wonderfully unproductive. They're supposed to be the seasons of origin stories, when kids figure out who they are outside the classroom, outside their parents' gaze, outside the grind. We figured it out because we were left to our own devices. Not the digital kind; the real ones. Our guts. Our instincts. Our imaginations. My daughter may never know the feeling of getting on her bike and riding until the streetlights come on. But she can still have the kind of summer that isn't about achievements. A summer that feels like hers, not something planned for her. A summer where her mind can wander and her soul can breathe. So yes, let her go to theater camp. Let her find her voice. But let her be bored too. Let her be curious. Let her figure it out. Because one day, when she's older, I want her to smile at the memory of the summer where nothing much happened—but everything changed. She'll have the rest of her life to run the rat race. I just hope she gets one summer to ride a bike down a steep hill. SEE ALSO: This Was Supposed To Be A Review Of 'Forever,' But It's Not The Uncomfortable Realities Of Middle-Aged Black Manhood SEE ALSO Bring Back Boredom: A Requiem For Black Gen X Summers was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Hamilton Spectator
15 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
2,500 revelers in baroque costumes dance until dawn at Versailles' masked ball
VERSAILLES, France (AP) — Dressed in their finest baroque costumes and signature masks, guests danced the night away at the Palace of Versailles. On Saturday night, the Great Masked Ball brought together 2,500 costumed revelers, who partied until dawn from the iconic Orangerie to the Ballroom Grove, an amphitheater of greenery laid out in the grandiose gardens designed by André Le Nôtre. This year's theme — Animal is the Future — fused dance performances, DJ sets, and vibrant visuals, captivating a crowd required to be fully costumed and masked to gain entry and entertain themselves. Here is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
