As Hurricane Melissa, a powerful Category 5 storm, makes its way across Jamaica, a secondary storm of misinformation is spreading rapidly across social media platforms. Dozens of artificially generated videos, depicting dramatic and false scenes from the hurricane, have accumulated millions of views, raising concerns about the use of AI during natural disasters.
The fabricated content, primarily found on TikTok, includes clips of sharks swimming through flooded residential areas and exaggerated views of the storm's eye from airplane windows. While some videos are marked as AI-generated, many are presented as authentic footage, misleading viewers about the real-time events on the ground.
Key Takeaways
- Artificially generated videos related to Hurricane Melissa are circulating widely on platforms like TikTok, reaching millions of users.
- Common fabrications include sharks in floodwaters and unrealistic aerial views of the storm, often with obscured AI watermarks.
- The "hurricane shark" is a recurring internet hoax that dates back to 2011 but has been revitalized by modern text-to-video AI tools.
- Hurricane Melissa is a genuine and dangerous Category 5 storm with sustained winds reaching 175 mph, causing significant real-world impact in Jamaica.
A Surge of Digital Fakes
In recent days, social media feeds have been inundated with seemingly incredible footage attributed to Hurricane Melissa. One widely shared clip, viewed over half a million times, shows a person on a balcony filming two sharks navigating a heavily flooded street. Another video, which has garnered 2.6 million views, purports to show the eye of the storm from a passenger plane, accompanied by a dramatic caption.
Investigation into these videos reveals they are not genuine. Many bear the hallmarks of AI generation, created using text-to-video models from companies like OpenAI and Google. While some creators use watermarks like "Sora" or "VEO" to indicate their origin, others appear to intentionally blur or remove these markers to deceive viewers.
In response to the spread of this content, platforms like TikTok have reportedly removed dozens of AI-generated videos. However, new clips continue to emerge as quickly as old ones are taken down, highlighting the challenge of moderating content during a fast-moving crisis.
The 'Hurricane Shark' Meme Returns
The image of a shark in storm-flooded streets is not a new phenomenon. The concept first gained notoriety as an internet meme during Hurricane Irene in 2011, when a manipulated photograph of a shark on a Puerto Rican street fooled several news outlets. Since then, the "hurricane shark" has become a recurring online trope, reappearing during nearly every major weather event.
From Photoshop to AI
What was once a niche skill requiring photo editing software has now become accessible to anyone with an AI tool. The evolution from a single photoshopped image in 2011 to a flood of AI-generated videos in 2024 demonstrates the rapid advancement and democratization of content creation technology. This accessibility has supercharged the spread of old hoaxes in new, more believable formats.
This enduring motif, once considered more of a running joke than deliberate disinformation, has found new life with AI. The technology allows for the creation of convincing video clips, making the hoax more difficult to dismiss. One such AI video shows two dorsal fins in floodwaters, while another features sharks in a swimming pool, complete with fabricated audio of a concerned onlooker.
Experts have long advised skepticism toward any image or video featuring a shark during a hurricane, as these are almost universally fake. Yet, the high engagement these posts receive—often reaching hundreds of thousands or even millions of views—ensures they continue to be created and shared.
The Real Storm: Hurricane Melissa's True Impact
Beyond the digital fabrications, Hurricane Melissa represents a significant and real threat. The storm has been classified as a Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained wind speeds recorded at 175 mph (282 km/h). This makes it one of the strongest hurricanes to directly impact Jamaica since record-keeping began.
A Historic Hurricane Season
Hurricane Melissa is the third Category 5 storm to form in the Atlantic this year, following Hurricanes Erin and Humberto. The last time the Atlantic basin experienced at least three storms of this intensity in a single season was in 2005, a record-setting year that saw four Category 5 hurricanes.
Climate scientists suggest that factors such as warmer sea surface temperatures contribute to the rapid intensification of tropical cyclones. This process allows storms to quickly escalate in strength, and models predict that a greater proportion of hurricanes will reach Category 4 and 5 levels as global temperatures continue to rise.
While social media users share fake videos of sharks, communities in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean are facing the real-world consequences of powerful winds, storm surges, and extensive flooding. Emergency services are actively engaged in response efforts, and the full extent of the damage is still being assessed.