What was claimed
A video filmed from above shows Hurricane Melissa approaching Jamaica.
Our verdict
This video isn’t genuine. It has been generated using artificial intelligence.
Video appearing to show Hurricane Melissa from above is AI
A video being shared widely across social media platforms, which appears to show the eye of Hurricane Melissa filmed from a plane, is an AI creation.
The clip, which has been circulating on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, ahead of the hurricane’s landfall in Jamaica, appears to show the view of someone filming from a porthole window in a plane.
It seems to show the eye of the hurricane, with a huge doughnut-shaped swirling cloud beneath the plane.
But, while there is some genuine footage filmed by storm hunters from inside Hurricane Melissa, this particular video is not real.
The earliest example of the fake footage we found was posted on TikTok on 26 October, which has a caption saying it is AI-generated. It says: “This is not real, it is a simulation made with ai for a ‘what if’ scenario” and the account’s bio says “AI disaster curiosity”.
Join 72,953 people who trust us to check the facts
Sign up to get weekly updates on politics, immigration, health and more.
Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.
The account posts many similar videos of AI-generated aerial views of storms and cloud formations.
Hurricane Melissa is the strongest storm to hit Jamaica in modern history, and has also made landfall in Cuba with 115mph winds and heavy rain.
Misinformation can spread quickly online during unfolding global events and natural disasters, so it’s important to be responsible when sharing content that you see on social media. Our toolkit, and guides to spotting AI images and videos, can help you avoid amplifying bad information.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as altered because this video isn’t real, but has been created with AI.