Hurricane

Did the sky over Florida turning purple around the time of Hurricane Milton's landfall prove that HAARP manufactured the natural disaster? No, that's not true: The university responsible for HAARP has rejected such claims before. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told Lead Stories that "no technology" can "create, destroy, modify, intensify or steer hurricanes in any way, shape or…

Does an authentic animation show Hurricane Leslie's projected path through Florida with tens of thousands of deaths, as a post on X suggested? No, that's not true: The clip was taken from a hurricane simulation game called Hurricane Outbreak. It does not represent Hurricane Leslie or its path. As of October 16, 2024, Hurricane Leslie had been downgraded from a…

Does a viral video montage show actual tornados and damage from Hurricane Milton in Florida in October 2024? No, that's not true: The montage is a compilation of older, unrelated clips. Some of them show signs of digital manipulation. The claim that the video depicted authentic scenes from Hurricane Milton appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on October…

Is retail chain Costco refusing to accept returns on toilet paper, paper towels, sanitizing wipes and other items amid the "chaos" caused by Hurricane Milton? No, that's not true: A sign stating that Costco will not give customers a refund on these items already appeared in social media posts in 2020, when people were hoarding supplies at the outset of…

Was a C-17 aircraft loaded with supplies for Hurricane Helene victims but never delivered just to give Vice President Kamala Harris a photo opportunity? No, that's not true: The plane Harris took photos with had maintenance issues and didn't take off, according to the North Carolina National Guard. The supplies were flown to Asheville, North Carolina, on a different plane…

Did a scene from an episode of "The Simpsons" predict Hurricane Milton by showing that name on-screen during a Kent Brockman news broadcast segment? No, that's not true: A clip from the episode was altered to add the words "Hurricane Milton," a storm that made landfall in October 2024. The actual episode featured a storm named Hurricane Barbara. The claim…

Did Mission Hospital in North Carolina contain 900 unidentified bodies of Hurricane Helene victims and was the hospital turned into a morgue amid the disaster? No, that's not true: "Mission Hospital is not serving as the local community morgue," a hospital spokesperson told Lead Stories. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services told Lead Stories they had "no…

Do viral images authentically capture the massive destruction caused by Hurricane Milton at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida? No, that's not true: Those pictures were generated by AI and first posted on a website with a satire label. On October 11, 2024, Disney announced it had reopened its theme parks. The claim appeared in a video (archived here)…

Does a National Hurricane Center tracking map show a new storm heading for Florida immediately after Hurricane Milton hit in early October 2024? No, that's not true: The Center's "Atlantic Tropical Cyclones and Disturbances" map shows no storm setting its sights on the Sunshine State. Instead, the image on social media is an old map from November 2022. The claim…

Does a video show two active tornadoes on the ground simultaneously in Florida during Hurricane Milton's landfall in October 2024? No, that's not true: The video on X shows two active tornadoes on the ground simultaneously in Nebraska in 2014. The person who made the video confirmed that the tornado sightings were recorded in Pilger, Nebraska, in 2014 in a…