Videos have appeared on social media claiming to show the impact of Hurricane Melissa with fake images of sharks; Jamaican authorities have warned people to listen only to official information.
Fake AI videos claiming to show the impact of Hurricane Melissa would have you believe there are sharks swimming in the streets of Jamaica.
Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm, is hitting Jamaica and is expected to cause catastrophic damage. It is the strongest storm to hit the island since records began 174 years ago. Jamaica’s government said it had done everything it could to prepare and the streets of the capital, Kingston, are virtually empty.
Fake shark images online have raised concerns on the island. There have been several AI-generated clips showing predators in floods.
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Many of the fake clips shared on social media are watermarked by OpenAI’s text-to-video model, Sora, but others give no obvious indication that they are not genuine.
Senator Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s Minister of Information, has participated in press conferences to provide “correct information” about the storm. “I’m on a lot of WhatsApp groups and I see all these videos. A lot of them are fake,” Dixon said. “And that is why we urge you to listen to the official channels.”
As well as the shark footage, there have been other dramatic clips showing severe flooding and people fleeing a wave.
A meteorology professor at the University of Oklahoma warned about the dangers of fake images. “This storm is huge and will likely cause catastrophic damage, and false content undermines the seriousness of the government’s message to be prepared,” said Professor Amy McGovern. “Over time, this type of false content will lead to loss of life and property.”
Melissa, one of the strongest hurricanes in history, made landfall in southwestern Jamaica near New Hope and is expected to exit around St. Ann Parish in the north, forecasters said. The storm is expected to cross the island diagonally and head towards Cuba.
Before Melissa made landfall, landslides, downed trees and numerous power outages were reported, and Jamaican officials warned that cleanup and damage assessment would be slow. “There is no infrastructure in the region that can support a Category 5,” Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness said Monday. “The question now is the speed of recovery. That is the challenge.”
