© disneytouristblog
Hurricane Milton hit Florida this week, forcing Walt Disney World to close its gates. But as the park prepared to reopen, another storm, this time virtual, swept across the internet. Dramatic images showing the Magic Kingdom engulfed by the floods took over social media. In the face of this wave of misinformation, let’s dive behind the scenes of this viral phenomenon.
The murky origins of the images
It all started on Telegram, where a Russian state media outlet shared three photos supposedly taken at Disney World. They show the castle and other iconic buildings of the park submerged up to their rooftops. These images quickly made the rounds on the web, relayed in particular by influencers on X (ex-Twitter) and TikTok.
#HurricaneMilton caused flooding at Disney World theme park in Orlando, #Florida, U.S., October 10, 2024.
Why #climatedisasters have increased manifold, want to know the truth see the scientists reporthttps://t.co/m7QLd5UD5L pic.twitter.com/agRD43nhSw— Alex Terry (@AlexTerry17482) October 10, 2024
But a closer look quickly reveals the deception. The buildings do not correspond to the reality of the park. Worse still, by zooming in on the castle, we notice glaring inconsistencies in the rendering of the towers. The verdict is clear: these are images generated by artificial intelligence.
When disinformation goes viral
How to explain the scale of this fake news ? Several factors come into play:
- The speed of propagation on social networks
- The lack of verification by users and certain media
- The exploitation of the subject by influential accounts
Yes, some people believe it… © Twitter
On X, some people largely contributed to the virality of the images before deleting them. On TikTok, videos showing exaggerated destruction of the park were shared out of context, with some users taking them at face value.
This case emphasizes once again the importance of checking sources and of critical thinking in the face of the continuous flow of information online. In an increasingly complex media landscape, distinguishing fact from fiction is becoming a daily challenge.
- Images showing Disney World flooded after Hurricane Milton are fake
- These AI-generated photos were widely shared on social media
- The park did close temporarily, but did not suffer major damage and reopened quickly
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