Dubai, the largest city in the United Arab Emirates, experienced record-breaking rainfall and flooding last week. But some videos online falsely claimed to show the deluge.
Text on an Instagram video shared April 17 read, “Dubai city today, tornado storm everywhere.” The video included four different clips showing extreme weather events.
The post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
The first clip showed a large tornado near a beach. We found the same video posted on TikTok in January, with claims the footage was from Florida. The TikTok footage looks as if it could be generated by artificial intelligence, and it differs from footage of the tornado from a local news outlet. More importantly, the TikTok footage was posted online Jan. 5, and the Florida tornadoes occurred Jan. 8 and 9.
The next clip shows heavy clouds covering tall buildings. The same clip was also posted on YouTube on Nov. 3, 2023, saying it showed weather in Bahrain. Other TikTok and YouTube posts claim the footage came from Dubai in November. The United Arab Emirates did have heavy rain that led to flights being canceled in November 2023, but we could not confirm whether this footage shows that.
(Screenshot from Instagram)
The third clip shows a group of people taking cover from wind and rain. That video was first posted July 25, 2023, by China Central Television, China’s national television broadcaster. Its caption says it shows a storm hitting the Taihang Mountain Grand Canyon in Changzhi, Shanxi, on July 24, 2023.
(Screenshot from Instagram)
The final clip, showing heavy rains over a busy road with large buildings, first appeared in a TikTok from Nov. 21, 2023.
We rate the claim that a video compilation shows a tornado and storms in Dubai on April 17 False.
