An AI-generated image falsely showing Virginia State University’s HBCU band spelling “NOLAN” on a football field is not authentic, a university communications official confirmed to HBCU Gameday.
“Yes, we’ve seen the image circulating on social media and are aware that it is AI-generated and not authentic,” Gwen Williams Dandridge, Virginia State’s assistant vice president of communications, said in a Sept. 28 email.
The image began circulating over the weekend, appearing to show Virginia State’s Trojan Explosion Marching Band forming the name “NOLAN” on the football field in tribute to Nolan Wells.
Wells, 18, was found dead near Mississippi’s Horn Island in July. His family and supporters have called for answers about his death.
That real loss gives the invented tribute its emotional pull. It does not make the image a record of an actual performance.
Virginia State HBCU band did not create the formation
The Trojan Explosion did not perform the formation shown in the viral image. Dandridge said she was still weighing whether Virginia State should respond publicly because a statement might give the false image more attention.
“My hesitation has been that responding publicly could inadvertently amplify it and draw even more attention to it,” she wrote. Dandridge also noted that a Nolan support group had shared the image. She had not made a final decision on a separate public response in her email to HBCU Gameday.
The image has visible errors. Its stadium signage appears to spell “Virginia” as “VIRGINA.” The field and surrounding structures do not match Rogers Stadium, where HBCU Gameday covered an event this past weekend. Distorted details in the image offer another clue, but the university’s direct confirmation settles the question.
Why the false HBCU band image matters
A tribute by an HBCU marching band might sound plausible. Plausibility, though, is not evidence. The false image assigns an invented performance to real Virginia State students and uses Wells’ story to make the claim more compelling.
Virginia State’s communications office has confirmed the image is AI-generated and inauthentic. Whether the university makes a broader public statement remains under consideration. For now, anyone sharing the picture as a record of the Trojan Explosion is sharing an event that did not occur.