Hurricane 2024

Did a real weatherman named "Jim Acosted" break down and rant on air about his ex-wife, Helene, while discussing Hurricane Helene? No, that's not true: The "Jim Acosted" video is satirical and features a comedian playing a fictional weatherman whose ex-wife is named "Helene." The comedian acts in numerous videos on the YouTube channel Valuetainment Comedy. The claim appeared in…

Did a private jet fly through the eye of Hurricane Helene on the evening of September 26, 2024, when it was a powerful Category 4 storm? No, that's not true: Experts contacted by Lead Stories said it appears the flight either flew over the top or passed through a "ragged" eyewall on its southern side, where there was blue sky.…

Does a compilation of storm video clips show the effects of Hurricane Helene in Fort Myers, Florida, on September 26, 2024? No, that's not true: This clickbait compilation was published several hours before Hurricane Helene made landfall and shows footage from past storms in several locations along the Eastern Seaboard. None of the identified video clips show Hurricane Helene. One…

Did a video show Hurricane Helene causing a storm surge of 15 to 20 feet in Florida? No, that's not true: The footage is from 2022's Hurricane Ian. A reverse image search showed that the footage had been published online on September 29, 2022, on YouTube by storm chaser Max Olson. The claim appeared in a post on X (archived…

Do two reels posted to Facebook authentically show clips of tornadoes that occurred in Dubai and Canada? No, that's not true: Experts told Lead Stories that the twisters shown in the clips were fake and 100 percent AI-generated content. There are prominent elements in the videos that indicate manipulation and editing have been used to create them. One claim originated…

Does a video compilation of clips showing extreme weather include authentic footage of Hurricane Beryl striking Cancun, Mexico, on July 5, 2024? No, there's no evidence that's true: At least two of the clips were available online before the hurricane formed. This means they could not possibly depict Hurricane Beryl. The claim appeared in a post on Facebook Reels on…

Does a video montage of clips contain authentic footage of Hurricane Beryl striking Texas on July 7, 2024? No, that's not true: Lead Stories connected nine of the clips to storms in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Florida and Canada, but not Texas. There's no evidence linking the collection of 13 short clips to the Category 1 hurricane that made landfall in…

Does a video show authentic footage of a tornado hitting a Florida beach, or Miami, on July 7, 2024? No, that's not true: National Weather Service records did not document any such extreme weather in the entire state of Florida on July 7, 2024. The footage is a combination of digitally created clips and recycled clips from unrelated true events.…

Does a video compilation show Hurricane Beryl in Jamaica on July 3, 2024? No, that's not true: The compilation consists of older, unrelated video clips from intense weather events in other places. None of the footage was shot in Jamaica. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on July 3, 2024. It was captioned: Hurricane Beryl Caribbean…

Does a video in a social media post show "Muslim migrants" destroying public property because an Israeli singer was featured in the Eurovision song contest? No, that's not true: The footage shows a 2009 anti-Israel demonstration in Sweden that turned violent. That 2009 demonstration occurred during a tennis tournament and was not related to that year's Eurovision contest, which was…