Fake videos created using artificial intelligence are circulating, falsely depicting sharks swimming in the flooded streets of Jamaica amid the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa. The Category 5 storm is currently battering Jamaica, poised to cause severe destruction, marking the strongest hurricane to hit the island in its 174-year recorded history. The Jamaican government has made extensive preparations for the storm, resulting in deserted streets in the capital, Kingston.

Concern has escalated on the island due to the dissemination of fabricated images, including AI-generated videos featuring sharks in floodwaters. Some of these misleading clips bear the watermark of OpenAI’s Sora text-to-video model, while others lack clear indicators of their inauthenticity.

Senator Dana Morris Dixon, Jamaica’s information minister, has been actively addressing the dissemination of misinformation through press conferences, urging the public to rely on official sources for accurate updates amid the crisis. Alongside the shark imagery, dramatic videos showing widespread flooding and individuals fleeing from a wave have also surfaced.

A meteorology professor from the University of Oklahoma has raised alarms about the proliferation of fake content, emphasizing that such misinformation undermines the gravity of the situation and could potentially lead to loss of life and property. Hurricane Melissa made landfall in southwestern Jamaica near New Hope and is projected to exit around St. Ann parish before heading towards Cuba, following a diagonal path across the island.

Reports of landslides, fallen trees, and numerous power outages have emerged prior to Melissa’s landfall, with authorities in Jamaica cautioning that the aftermath and damage assessment process will be protracted. Prime Minister Andrew Holness highlighted the region’s vulnerability to a Category 5 hurricane, emphasizing the impending challenges of recovery and restoration efforts.

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