Experts call out unsettling truth behind viral video of airplane circling Hurricane Melissa — here's what you need to know

Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica on Tuesday, following days of dire warnings from meteorologists and experts in the news.

In the three days prior, all indicators increasingly suggested it would strike hard, potentially devastating Caribbean nations.

As Melissa began to bear down on the region, several video clips supposedly depicting the storm began spreading on social media. 

One particular video went viral, according to Fact Crescendo, purporting to show "an airplane flying directly into the eye of Hurricane Melissa and capturing a vortex from above." 

A version of the video was shared on the social media platform X, racking up nearly 150,000 views.

Another iteration of the same clip appeared on Facebook, sparking concern and fear among commenters about Jamaica.

"Does anyone feel like they can't breathe when they look at this?" one user replied.

"Please, be sweet, Melissa," another prayed.

"God, please keep everyone safe," a third fretted.

However, as Fact Crescendo indicated, the clip wasn't authentic. On X, a Community Note warned users that the footage was not real, but no such label appeared on Facebook.

According to the outlet and the note on X, the video was first shared on TikTok on Oct. 25 by user Earth Impacts (@earthimpacts). Before it began its journey to other platforms, where it was stripped of all context, additional information was at least highly visible.

@earthimpacts Is it safe for us to fly this close? #fyp #ai #earthimpacts ♬ original sound - 🪐 Earth Impacts 🌎

On the original post itself, no fewer than six labels marked it as generated by artificial intelligence, and the user's caption expressly stated: "This is not real, it is a simulation made with AI for a 'what if' scenario." The disclaimers did not hurt the performance, as it exceeded 5 million views and 100,000 likes.

Earth Impacts' TikTok bio described its content as "AI disaster curiosity," and in its original form, the clip made no mention of Hurricane Melissa whatsoever. Initially, it was labeled "tornado."

It's not clear where the AI-generated clip's labeling was obscured — but social media misinformation and disinformation are at their most dangerous during active threats and natural disasters. 

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The relatively recent introduction of readily accessible tools for creating highly realistic images and videos has the potential to exacerbate disaster- and weather-related disinformation. 

However, the phenomenon is far from new, and low-tech approaches like presenting archival footage as new still persist, as PolitiFact observed.

Hurricane Melissa is an extreme weather event, and viral falsehoods about ongoing incidents can pose real-world dangers to those affected.

Staying informed about key climate issues can help social media users distinguish between important facts and dangerous fiction.

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