On October 9, 2024, Hurricane Milton hit Florida, United States, causing flooding and leaving at least a dozen dead. In this context, three images of the flooded Disney World tourist complex have been shared more than 3,000 times on social networks, with the claim that they were captured after the cyclone passed. However, the photos have visual inconsistencies related to artificial intelligence, an expert told AFP. In addition, the facilities do not match those of the park and the company said that the place “withstood the storm.”
“Disney underwater This is what Disney looks like in Florida after Hurricane Milton”say publications in Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X y TikTok.
The viral posts spread three nighttime images of the flooded amusement park, including the iconic Cinderella Castle.
Similar entries circulate in English, portuguese, German, Russian, malabar, armenia y Korean.
Screenshot of a Facebook post made on October 10, 2024
The images began to circulate after Hurricane Milton passed through Florida. The cyclone hit the peninsula on October 9, two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall in the southeastern United States.
Milton caused deadly tornadoes on the peninsula’s east coast, where Disney World theme parks remained closed as a precaution.
Disney hill its Orlando facility on Oct. 10 due to heavy rain and winds, but the company said on its website that the site “withstood the storm” y advertisement that its theme parks will reopen on October 11 during their regular hours.
The AFP contacted The Walt Disney Company, but as of the date of this publication there was no response.
AFP Factual did not find the origin of the snapshots. However, Only Faridan expert in digital forensics at the University of California-Berkeley, told AFP on October 10, 2024 that the three viral images were probably generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
“There are obvious structural defects in all images, including inconsistent reflections in the water”he pointed out.
“In addition, our models trained to distinguish real images from those created by artificial intelligence mark these as probably generated by AI”Farid added.
Other image analysis tools, such as InVID WeVerify, Hive Moderation and True Media also detected indicators that the image had been created with artificial intelligence.
Screenshots of InVID WeVerify, True Media and Hive Moderation taken on October 10, 2024
On the other hand, there are some clear differences between the viral image of Cinderella Castle and what is seen in broadcasts on YouTube (1, 2) made from Disney World hours before Milton’s arrival, such as the location and number of towers, structural details, and type of streetlights.
Comparison of screenshots of a post on Facebook (I) and an entry on YouTube, made on October 10, 2024
The local media Orlando Sentinel reported on Oct. 10 that some areas of the city experienced flooding, but officials in the neighboring city of Kissimmee said there was “minimal damage”.
The United States National Weather Service placed Orlando under a flood alert at 11:57 GMT on October 10, but lifted it at 6:00 p.m. GMT.
The AFP has verified various false content related to Hurricane Milton (1, 2, 3).
References
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Disney statements about the closing y reopening of its facilities in Orlando
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Profile by Hany Farid
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Article from the Orlando Sentinel on the flooding after Milton
