Dodger Stadium not flooded after Tropical Storm Hilary, debunking viral aerial photos

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Dodgers are clearing up some confusion after Tropical Storm Hilary moved through the region.

Social media users may have noticed Dodger Stadium was trending online Sunday over photos and videos that made people think the parking lot and surrounding area had flooded. But that wasn’t the case.

The reflection caused by the wet and rainy parking lot is creating that illusion.

The Dodgers posted on social media in response to the misrepresentation, writing: “Dodger Stadium trending? We get it. It looks beautiful this morning.”

The post had photos of the ballpark and parking lot appearing pretty dry.

When historic weather like Tropical Storm Hilary hits Southern California, people are quick to jump on social media and share what it looks like from every angle.

But with all that excitement, coming across misleading information might be inevitable.

“When something as notable as a hurricane, or part of a hurricane hitting Los Angeles, everybody wants to provide the most shocking version of it, or the commentary on it,” said Karen North, a professor of digital social media at USC.

Video of rides at Universal Studios posted with fake captions also tried to trick social media users. Another video on social media tried to fool people into believing the Metro Wilshire/Vermont station was flooded. L.A. Metro pointed out the video was fake.

“Take a look at the source,” North said. “If a verified news source is providing images, it’s much more likely to be valid than if somebody with a Twitter account, or somebody with an Instagram account put something up.”