In late June 2025, social media users spread a rumor that authorities in Dayton, Ohio, fined a local teenager named Kameron Price and placed him under house arrest for hacking into the city's traffic system to make the stoplights "sync properly."
The claim circulated on Facebook, X and TikTok. Many posts paired the claim with an image presumably depicting Price, his workstation and an intersection with traffic lights. Snopes readers also wrote in to ask about the truth of this claim.
Price did not appear to exist and, as many Snopes readers rightfully pointed out, the image of Price was the product of artificial intelligence (AI) software. A Google search for news stories on Price returned no results from reputable outlets reporting on the story as a true event, nor did searches on Dayton's major local news sites. Thus, we rate this claim false.
The story appeared to first come from a Facebook account called Cops Moment, which posted the false story and fake image on June 25, 2025. While Cops Moment's bio claimed, as of this writing, to provide "exciting stories, real actions, and captivating moments from the world of law enforcement," the page has published at least six posts largely following the same template: a story about a person doing a good — but legally questionable — deed getting in trouble with law enforcement, accompanied by what appeared to be AI-generated images of mug shots.
(Facebook user Cops Moment)
Cops Moment did not immediately return an inquiry asking for confirmation about the story's origins and whether the page was satirical.
Two AI-generation detectors, Hive Moderation and Sight Engine, rated the image of Price as 99.9% likely to be AI-generated and 99% likely to be AI-generated, respectively. While AI detectors do not always provide accurate results, multiple issues with the image indicated AI-generation, including a car driving the wrong way on the street and the fact that the street sign says "N 3ro," whereas the story claimed Price fixed "five major lights along West 3rd Street."
The image showed clear signs of artificial intelligence generation. (Facebook user Cops Moment/Snopes Illustration)
Details from the falsified story also did not hold up to scrutiny. For example, the story claimed a video of the intersection "running smoother than it has in years" went viral, but a search on YouTube and Google for the supposed video returned no results. The story also alleged "online petitions calling for the fine to be dropped have already surpassed 50,000 signatures." However, a search for any petitions related to a Kameron Price from Dayton, Ohio, did not come up with anything relevant.
The city of Dayton did not immediately return a request to confirm that no one had hacked into its traffic control system.
Snopes constantly fact checks rumors that show signs of AI-generated software. For examples, see our collection of 25 rumors involving AI content.