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 in a video shared on Facebook on August 28, 2024, (archived here) that claimed to show a "Tornado in Dubai." The text overlay read:
#climatechange #floods #disasterrecovery #popupschools #tsunami #disasterresponse #disasters #wildfire #gobag #pelitafoundation #hurricane #disasterrelief #hurricaneseason #disaster #fire #lombokearthquake #earthquake #globalwarming #naturaldisaster #climatecrisis #emergencypreparedness #flood #nature #tornado #earthquakes #disasterpreparedness #covid #emergencyschools
That same clip was used at the start of another video shared to Facebook, this one on August 30, 2024, (archived here) said to depict a "Tornado storm in Canada 🇨🇦." The text overlay read:
#lombokearthquake #covid #disasterpreparedness #earthquake #storm #wildfire #globalwarming #gobag #tsunami #disasters #fire #popupschools #naturaldisaster #flood #nature #climatecrisis #hurricane #climatechange #floods #emergencyschools #disasterrelief #tornado #emergencypreparedness #disasterresponse #pelitafoundation #disasterrecovery #hurricaneseason #naturaldisasters
Here is how both videos appeared at the time of this publication. Both did not specify a month, season or year:
(Source: Lead Stories compilation of Facebook screenshots taken Wed Sept 4 19:02:56 2024 UTC)
David Sills (archived here), executive director of the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) (archived here) at Western University in Canada, told Lead Stories that the tornadoes seen in the videos above are "100% AI-generated content."
In an email to Lead Stories received September 4, 2024, Sills referred to the NTP Dashboard, which tracks tornado activity in Canada. As of this writing, there were 83 tornadoes (archived here) in 2024. None of their descriptors matched the level of destruction seen in these videos.
John Hanesiak (archived here), a professor of environment and geography at the University of Manitoba, also confirmed that the twisters shown were "fake."
The videos use the same introductory footage, depicting a trash can being blown in front of a gate as a tornado is shown touching down in the background. The footage is just inverted and cropped differently in the two clips.
Signs of AI
There are also signs of the footage having been created using AI programming, such as the warped, blurred fence posts shown below:
(Source: Lead Stories compilation of Facebook screenshots Wed Sept 4 21:29:18 2024 UTC)
The Canadian video includes several other scenes said to depict tornadoes across Canada. The four screenshots below include houses that appear to be misshapen, cartoonish, blurry and seemingly melted in appearance -- obvious signs of AI:
(Source: Lead Stories Facebook screenshot compilation Wed Sept 4 19:39:16 2024 UTC)
In the four screenshots below, it looks as though genuine footage of landscapes may have been altered to include digital renderings of tornadoes:
(Source: Lead Stories compilation of Facebook screenshots taken Wed Sept 4 18:55:15 2024 UTC)
Account has shared dozens of similar clips
Both reels were posted by Bravi Vado, a page created on May 9, 2024, that self-describes as a "Digital creator," according to its "About" section (archived here) on Facebook. Contact information in the section appears fake, including a "555" phone number and "Jane Doe" email address.
Since its creation, the page has posted dozens of similar clips of supposed tornadoes across the world, including those in Europe and various states in the U.S.:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken Wed Sept 4 16:31:09 2024 UTC)
Other Lead Stories fact checks about tornados and hurricanes can be found here.
