Real or AI? · Latest checks · Checked 3 October 2026

A view from a plane window into the eye of a giant storm: real or AI?

Short answer: this was made with AI. The evidence is set out below.

Posted on X by @Khhanzy · Shown as an embedded post · Source

The answer: made by AI

The clip shows a view from a plane window, looking down on a huge ring of swirling cloud like the eye of a hurricane. It spread on Facebook, X and Instagram in October 2025 as footage of Hurricane Melissa, and came back on TikTok in September 2026 labelled as the eye of Hurricane Polo. Full Fact found the earliest copy on TikTok, posted on 26 October 2025 by an account called @earthimpacts. Its caption said the video was not real and was a simulation made with AI. Lead Stories found the same clip on a matching Instagram account that describes itself as an AI-generated profile. Both fact-checkers pointed out that real footage from inside these storms does exist, filmed by the crews of storm-hunting aircraft. Dramatic storm clips often return under a new storm's name, so it is worth looking for the first upload.

The tells

The hole in the clouds is a neat, deep funnel, a bit like water going down a plughole. Real hurricanes do not spin this fast. Ordinary planes cannot safely fly over a hurricane, so nobody could film this from a window seat.

How we know

• Published fact-check: Lead Stories, 30 September 2026
• Published fact-check: Full Fact, 29 October 2025
• Community Note: Community Note on the X post

We only use a picture in the game when its origin is proven. Read how we check.

How to check something like this yourself

1. Find the first upload. Take a screenshot of a clear frame and run it through a reverse image search, or search a few words describing the clip with the name of the platform. Look for the earliest copy and read its caption.
2. Pause it, again and again. AI video tends to go wrong between frames: objects change shape, people merge, writing swims.
3. Check the length and the sound. Very short clips with stock-sounding audio, or no natural sound at all, deserve a closer look.
4. Look for a fact-check. Search the main claim with the words “fact check”. Anything widely shared has usually been looked at.

Full guide: How to spot an AI video.

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