Fact check: Image of rock faces altered, not located in California
The claim: An image shows a rock formation resembling human faces in Pacific Grove, California
An image circulating on social media shows verdant, stone cliffs emerging from blue-green water. The cliffs look like human faces in silhouette.
"They are on the shoreline of Pacific Grove, California, and the most romantic spot in the United States," reads the caption of an April 13 Facebook post featuring the image.
The post was shared roughly 15,000 times in a little more than a week. But its claim is wrong, as independent fact-checking organizations have reported.
Such a formation is not located in Pacific Grove, according to a spokesperson for the local Tourist Information Center. The image appears to be altered from a photo possibly taken in Thailand.
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USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who posted the claim for comment.
Image altered, not from California
The formation shown in the image is not located on the coast near Pacific Grove, Diane Tyrrel, a spokesperson for the Pacific Grove Tourist Information Center, told USA TODAY.
"We have the Kissing Rocks, but they don't look like that," she said.
The Kissing Rocks are an oceanside rock formation that Atlas Obscura describes as "the most romantic spot in America." The formation is composed of two stony outcroppings joined to form an arch over the water.
However, the formation does not look like the image circulating on social media. The image appears instead to be digitally rendered from a photograph of cliffs that do not resemble faces.
USA TODAY found multiple examples of the original image, but could not independently verify where it was taken. Media reports, independent fact-checking organizations and art retailers indicate the image shows the Thai coastline.
The altered image in the post appears on an art retail website, which indicates Durgasrinivas Yarramsetty created the photograph. The image is titled, "The kissing rock in Pacific Grove, California."
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USA TODAY reached out to Yarramsetty for comment.
Our rating: Altered
Based on our research, we rate ALTERED an image that claims to show a rock formation resembling human faces in Pacific Grove. The formation shown in the image is not located in Pacific Grove. The image appears to be altered from a photo possibly taken in Thailand.
Our fact-check sources:
Diane Tyrrel, April 21, Phone interview with USA TODAY
Atlas Obscura, accessed April 21, Kissing Rocks
Great Big Canvas, accessed April 21, Thai coastline wall hanging
Daily Mail, Dec. 20, 2013, Blessed in Thailand, the hypnotic land of sublime islands and swanky resorts
Pixels, accessed April 21, The kissing rock in Pacific Grove, CA
Pacific Grove, accessed April 21, Tourist Information Center
Check Your Fact, April 21, Fact check: Does this image show face-shaped rock formations in California?
Factly, April 21, Image of an artwork passed off as a picture of ‘Kissing Rock’ romantic spot in California
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Image of face cliffs not from Pacific Grove, California
