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Fact check: Alabama utility did not issue warning about flesh-eating bacteria

McKenzie Sadeghi, USA TODAY
·3 min read

The claim: Alabama Power warned people to stay out of Lewis Smith Lake due to flesh-eating bacteria

Ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, a purported warning from an electric utility company about flesh-eating bacteria in an Alabama lake is making the rounds on social media.

The posts claim Alabama Power is warning swimmers and boaters to stay out of Lewis Smith Lake, about 50 miles north of Birmingham, after finding a "significant increase" of flesh-eating bacteria in samples taken by an independent lab on June 22.

"Necrotizing Fasciitis (flesh eating bacteria) has significantly increased at Lewis Smith Lake and we here at Alabama Power Company have asked that all boaters and swimmers stay out of the water for their own safety," says the alleged letter, which was shared to Facebook on June 28.

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The letter is dated June 25 and is signed by "Anthony Gotchagain," indicating that the post is a prank. But many social media users shared the warning as if it were authentic. One user captioned the post: "DO NOT GET IN SMITH LAKE."

Alabama Power says the letter is not real, and there are no reports of high levels of flesh-eating bacteria at Lewis Smith Lake.

In a message to USA TODAY, one user said the post was shared as satire. The other user who shared the claim said she thought the letter was authentic when she first posted it, but she later noticed the fake signature.

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Alabama Power says letter is fake

A spokesperson for Alabama Power told USA TODAY the letter circulating online did not come from the company.

"A prank Facebook post warning residents to stay out of Smith Lake this summer is fake," spokesperson Danielle Kimbrough said in an email. "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."

On June 29, Alabama Power issued a statement warning residents about the fake letter on social media and encouraged visitors to follow its authentic outdoor and water safety guidelines.

Necrotizing fasciitis, mentioned in the posts, is a rare infection caused by flesh-eating bacteria that could potentially cause death, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria enters the body through breaks in the skin, including cuts, burns, bites and wounds.

The Alabama Department of Public Health has not issued any kind of warning about necrotizing fasciitis. However, there were reports of flesh-eating bacteria being found in bodies of water throughout Alabama in July 2017.

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Our rating: False

The claim that Alabama Power issued an advisory about an increase of flesh-eating bacteria in Lewis Smith Lake is FALSE, based on our research. A spokesperson for Alabama Power said the letter is fake, and there are no reports from the Alabama Department of Public Health about flesh-eating bacteria at the lake.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Warning from Alabama Power about Lewis Smith Lake is fake