Compilation misattributed to Hurricane Milton gets 20 million views on TikTok

Florida is reeling from Hurricane Milton, which made landfall on the evening of October 9, 2024. But a viral video, posted before the hurricane landed, pieces together clips of different natural disasters.

The 1-minute compilation, which shows various clips of violent storms and flooded streets, was posted on TikTok on October 8 and gathered more than 23 million views on TikTok before being deleted.

The caption printed across the top of the video said, "Tropical storm Hurricane Milton in Florida USA to Day. [sic]"

The video carries a banner across the bottom of the clip, reading, “07 October, 2024” towards the bottom. 

The compilation was also posted on Facebook with the caption, “This is WILD!! I am praying right now for everyone who is affected and going to be affected! This is so so scary 💔💔💔”

But the video contains a combination of old footage from other natural disasters and computerized clips. 

Video one

The first clip shows an enormous tornado in the middle of a city. Logically Facts found the video uploaded to YouTube on August 24, before Hurricane Milton, with a title linking it to the Gangwon-do province in South Korea. 

The clip does not feature debris flying into the tornado or other damage. TrueMedia, an AI deepfake online detection tool, found “substantial evidence” that it was manipulated.

Screenshot showing verdict established by True Media pertaining to clip one. (Source: TikTok/"False" label added by Logically Facts) 

Video two

The second clip in the compilation is cut and mirrored from a video uploaded to YouTube before Hurricane Milton. 

Logically Facts found this uploaded to YouTube on August 20, 2024, by FOX Weather. It is described as storm footage from Hillsboro, Alabama, showing partygoers taking cover after strong winds lifted a bouncy castle. 

Video three 

This clip shows trees blown by violent winds and what appear to be hailstones on the ground. This footage was featured in an article published by the Brazilian TV network Globo in 2017, in an article about a storm that hit the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.

Video four 

The video briefly cuts back to the clip first published by FOX Weather (timestamp 5s) but mirrored.

Video five

This footage shows strong winds blowing debris onto a red car and a white pickup truck. It is a mirrored version of a longer video first posted on YouTube on August 15, 2024, by an account called ViralSnare Rights Management, which describes itself as a video licensing company.

The account does not describe where the video was shot.

Video six

This clip shows trees blown by strong winds next to a swimming pool while a tornado approaches in the background. The video was posted on TikTok in January and attributed to Cayo Santa Maria, Mexico. 

One of the trees moves out of sync with the others, bending dramatically to the side.

The account that posted the video carries a description that says, “Videos real & edited.” The associated YouTube channel description reads, in part: “Welcome, Severe Weather and Natural Disasters Best Edits, sometimes Real Videos for you! Don't forget to subscribe!”

Screenshot of the description of the TikTok and YouTube channels that shared the clip. (Source: TikTok/YouTube) 

Logically Facts contacted the account in question and will update should they respond to our request for comment on whether the clip was digitally created.

Video seven 

The next clip shows cars attempting to drive while large waves crash onto and flood a roadway.

It is a mirror-flipped version of an older video posted on July 3 on a Spanish-language TikTok account. The account attributed it to the impact of Hurricane Beryl in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. 

Video eight

This clip shows a beachfront house being hit by a large wave. The footage was aired by CNN in February 2021 (timestamp 2:20), described as footage from a nor’easter, the term for a strong storm on the eastern U.S. coastline.

Video nine

This clip shows a house almost completely submerged with only the roof showing appears to be a mirrored version of this clip posted to TikTok (19s) in December 2023. 

The TikTok video also matches footage aired on ABC News (timestamp 1:02) in September 2022 and attributed to Hurricane Ian in Florida. The pink house with green window panes is visible in both the ABC footage and in the TikTok video. 

Video ten 

This clip shows large storm clouds gathering as cars drive by on a highway and was posted online as early as June 2021.

Logically Facts geolocated the footage to Hazard, Kentucky and not Florida, where Hurricane Milton hit.

Video eleven 

This clip shows boats being whipped into the air on a lake. The clip is mirrored from a video uploaded to Facebook in May.

The scene also matches a clip uploaded to X, formerly Twitter, by a meteorologist in May 2024 described as a tornado in Carroll County, Ohio.

Video twelve 

This low-resolution clip shows strong gusts blowing trees and debris with a yellow wall in the foreground and a building with a series of balconies in the background. 

The original clip was posted in May 2022 by French-language media outlet 20 Minutes. It captures a violent storm that swept across parts of west Germany. 

Video thirteen

This clip shows trees blowing while a tornado approaches in the background. The original video clip was posted on Shutterstock on February 23, 2019, and does not feature a tornado, indicating the tornado was digitally added later.

Video fourteen 

The final video shows a car driving on a bridge despite being almost completely submerged in water, with fish jumping out of the floodwater.  

This clip was first posted by a Brazilian Instagram account on February 10, 2023. However, the video shows signs of manipulation. The rain can be seen falling over the rearview mirror, implying that it is raining inside the car. The windscreen wipers can also be seen operating behind the river of water ahead of the car.

Screenshot showing elements in clip indicating that the clip was digitally created. (Source: TikTok) 

Verdict

A video dated October 7, 2024, claims to show footage of the devastation caused by Hurricane Milton across Florida. However, the video combines old video clips dating as far back as 2017 and digitally manipulated footage. We have therefore rated this claim false.