Wait, what’s going on with all the Hurricane Melissa videos of dolphins in swimming pools?
Is it real or AI?
As Hurricane Melissa continues to batter Jamaica and the Caribbean, fake videos of sharks in the streets and dolphins in swimming pools are going viral on TikTok, and flooding everyone’s FYP.
The Category 5 storm, one of the strongest to hit the region in decades, made landfall in Jamaica this week. Authorities have warned people to seek shelter inland to avoid deadly storm surges, with neighbouring countries like Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic also bracing for impact.
Credit: Canva
But as the storm rages, so does misinformation. TikTok and X have become dumping grounds for AI-generated clips pretending to show “real” footage of the destruction. One video that’s been viewed over half a million times shows a shark flung onto the shore by a massive wave — except the shark, and the wave, were both made by AI. The original uploader has since added a label admitting it’s fake after people called them out.
@thejahislashow Pray for 🇯🇲 👀 😭Heartbreak as Hurricane Melissa’s winds devastate a woman’s home and her neighbors’ 😭🥹” #jamaica #hurricanemelissa #HurricaneMelissa #MontegoBay #tiktokjamaica🇯🇲viral ♬ original sound – The Jahisla Show 📺
Other dodgy clips include “footage” from a passenger plane flying through the eye of the storm and entire coastal towns seemingly underwater. Spoiler alert: Most of them aren’t real.
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According to the BBC, loads of these viral videos have telltale AI artefacts — like blurred text, weird lighting, and dodgy watermarks — yet they’re still racking up millions of views. TikTok has already removed more than two dozen fake hurricane videos, according to the Associated Free Press, but plenty more are still spreading.
@sort_it_fast ITS HERE!!!!! 😳 #Jamaica #hurricanemelissa #cat5 #fyp #breakingnews ♬ original sound – Sort it Fast
However, not everything online is fake. A video showing dolphins being moved into swimming pools? That one’s actually true. Ceta Base Diving Centre confirmed that Dolphin Cove — a marine attraction in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay — relocated around 35 bottlenose dolphins into pools ahead of the hurricane to keep them safe. It’s exactly as surreal as it sounds, but it’s a legitimate safety measure, not an AI prank.
@honeybeb29 Replying to @UGC by Tam They’re fine.🙏🏽☺️ #hurricanemelissa #fypja #dolphins ♬ BOSS UP – Shenseea
While TikTok is full of AI sharks and fake disaster clips, yes — there really are dolphins chilling in pools in Jamaica right now.
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Featured image credit: TikTok/@honeybeb29, Canva
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