Image of plywood nailed to tents in California is satire

An Aug. 21 Instagram post (direct link, archived link) features what appears to be a news headline and article about how Californians were preparing ahead of Hurricane Hilary.

“Californians prepare for hurricane by nailing plywood boards onto their tent flaps,” reads the text in the post, which shows a picture of the supposed preparation.

“This is right up there with mask (sic),” says one comment on the post. “Unbelievable. I hope the city has a better evac plan for the homeless.”

“They are the ones who voted Gavin Newsom,” another user commented. “Now you may suffer.”

The post garnered more than 1,000 likes in two days. Other versions of the post continue to circulate on Instagram and Facebook.

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The article is not legitimate. The original headline and image come from the Babylon Bee, a known satirical news website.

The social media posts appear to reference Hurricane Hilary, which doused Southern California with inches of rain, triggered mudslides and flooding, and left thousands of residents without power.

People without shelter are at an increased risk of danger during hurricanes, tropical storms and other severe weather events.

But the headline and image used in the post come from the Babylon Bee, a well-known satirical website that describes itself as the “world’s best satire site, totally inerrant in all its truth claims.”

The post has been re-shared across various social media platforms and is being taken seriously by some people online.

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USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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