More than eight hours before the ceremony announcing the Michelin Guide’s inaugural American South selections, the list of restaurants earning stars and other accolades appeared online.

Michelin Guide representatives have not responded to requests for more information about the news release, which appeared on Globe Newswire — the same wire service Michelin used to share announcements about its other guides.

The news release, published at 9:30 a.m., is notable for its unusual timing. For the two previous events in Atlanta, the highly secretive Michelin Guide organization shared a news release with the full list of recognized restaurants immediately after the ceremony.

The new Michelin Guide American South includes the preexisting metro Atlanta guide along with Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The rest of Georgia was not considered for the guide.

The early release of information related to the Michelin Guide caused confusion and excitement in the restaurant world.

On Twitter, Asheville-based journalist Jason Sandford wrote, “I just talked to an Asheville chef who tells me that the unverified press release for the Michelin Guide to the American South awards is getting passed around in his chef/restaurant circles, and nobody is sure if it was published by mistake or if it’s inaccurate.”