Photo showing tornado funnel over Weatherford during Thursday storm fake, restaurant says

A photo showing a tornado funnel looming over downtown Weatherford was altered with a photo editing program, according to a restaurant that said an employee created the image.

“It was made to be a practical joke between a couple of friends and unfortunately got shared to the internet,” Downtown Cantina said in a message to the Star-Telegram. “You can see errors in editing. ... it was not made to be presented as real.”

Parker County Judge Pat Deen shared the photo on Facebook Thursday evening. He has since deleted the post. Sen. Drew Springer, a Muenster Republican whose district includes most of Weatherford, also shared the image online Thursday evening. The post was deleted Friday.

Much of North Texas, including Weatherford, experienced stormy weather Thursday. The Star-Telegram included the image in its coverage Thursday night.

“This pic was taken a block from my office in Weatherford about 5:50. Praying that everyone is safe,” Springer’s post reads.

Springer was not available for an interview Friday morning, but spokesperson Jessica Browning in an email said the image was sent to the senator by an elected official in Parker County. When the senator learned it was not authentic, he remove the post, she said.

Deen, in an interview with the Star-Telegram, said he’d sent the image in a text thread that included Springer.

Deen removed the photo when its authenticity was called into question, he said. He was sent the image by a business owner on the square and understood the image to be from a person who worked at Downtown Cantina. He declined to name the Downtown Cantina employee.

Deen said he believed the image was authentic when he shared it based on other information he had about the storm’s extent and damage. He also received feedback on the employee’s credibility and didn’t think the person had the capability to fake the image.

Steps are being taken to prevent inauthentic photos from being shared in the future, Deen said. He plans to send photos like it to Emergency Operations Coordinator and Fire Marshal Sean Hughes to run it through his channels and ensure with high probability that photos aren’t fakes.

“In the future it will go through another qualification process ... before I ever put it out on social media or any other venue,” he said.

What’s most important to Deen is the county’s response to the storm and that nobody was hurt or killed.

“Nothing is more important than the safety and protection of the people who live in Parker County, we’re going to take that seriously,” he said. “That’s beyond any photograph issues, and I don’t mean to demean that, but what’s more important is that we’re doing our job and making sure our people are safe.”

Staff Writer Bud Kennedy contributed to this report.