【2002 Archives】

More breaking news002 Archives and another score of fake videos and Facebook Lives, attracting tens of millions of views.

SEE ALSO: Almost 100,000 people were watching a fake Facebook Live of a tornado GIF

The first example is this 30-second video which falsely claims to depict Hurricane Irma devastating the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in the Caribbean.

The video, which was shared on Facebook by Hendry Moya Duran, attracted more than 27 million views and more than 789,000 shares.

However, the footage he used is at least more than one year old, and it allegedly shows a tornado that hit Dolores, Uruguay, in May 2016, according to several comments on this YouTube video from that time.

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The Facebook video even tricked a meteorologist into believing it was actually from Irma.

Jamie Erle spotted it and re-shared it to her Facebook profile. She later updated the post saying: "I fell for it. This is NOT IRMA. This is old video. My sincerest apologies.I didn't inspect this carefully enough; thank you to those who did! Again, sorry!!!"

Someone also took the chance of using an old video, putting it on loop and uploading it to Facebook as a "Facebook Live" of Hurricane Irma.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

It's an old trick but extremely effective.

The fake Irma video got more than 6 million views and more than 150,000 shares on the platform -- even from Facebook verified accounts like Carlos Trewher or popular ones like Conservative Today -- before being deleted.

A version of the fake Facebook Live, going on loop for 2 hours and 40 minutes, was posted on YouTube:

The original video is 3 minutes long and is at least 9 months old. According to this AccuWeather video, it shows a bus flipping over during Cyclone Vardah in India.

However, Facebook isn't the only platform hosting fake Irma videos.

One Instagram user posted a video, which he claimed to be from the Dutch Caribbean island of St Maarten, showing a five-storey building toppled over into a river under the impact of Hurricane Irma.

View this post on Instagram

The footage actually comes from flooding in Tibet, China, in July, according to Chinese news website Sina. Storyfulconfirmed the location using eyewitness video published by Beijing Youth Daily and EBC showing the accident from different angles.

The hoax tricked The MailOnline into publishing -- then deleting -- the video:

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Be careful out there.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Elon Musk's 'Dota 2' AI embarassed esports pros, but that was only the beginning

---

• Entertainment
• Shopping
• Life
• Social Good
• Digital Culture
• Tech
• Science
• Deals

• Philips now allows customers to 3D print replacement parts
• 'Game of Thrones' fan theory shows why Cersei has already made a huge mistake
• YouTube CEO perfectly sums up why Google engineer’s memo is so hurtful
• Here's how to see other planets during the total solar eclipse
• What cracked the Milky Way's giant cosmic bone? Scientists think they know.
• Here's how to see other planets during the total solar eclipse
• OkCupid launches anti
• 20 years later, the N64 will finally get a usable controller
• Episode 4: The Wave of the Future
• Tesla's autonomous trucks will move in platoons, report says

• Jaden Smith kicks off 'He Will Not Divide Us' performance art for the Trump presidency
• Trump has officially taken over the @POTUS account
• The internet can't get enough of this insane 'Super Mario Maker' level
• What does Samsung's Galaxy S8 need to make us forget about the Note7?
• Who pulled the bigger crowd: Trump or Obama?
• Google's Assistant might not be exclusive to Pixel for much longer
• US Army tests autonomous 'hoverbike' prototype
• Party planes full of 'nasty women' are heading to DC
• Unicorn ramen is real
• Someone at the National Park Service is obviously not happy about Trump's inauguration

• 'The Last of Us' Season 2, episode 4: Why Ellie sings 'Take on Me'
• Hackers of the future could use malware stored in DNA to infect computers
• Even the best passwords are no match for this simple hack
• 'Rick and Morty' went super Freudian in 'Pickle Rick' and it was perfection
• Sony launches new flagship XM6 headphones: Order them now
• Hundreds of frozen pizzas left on highway after truck crashes
• Samsung's Galaxy Note 8 might copy iPhone's pressure
• Google cancels diversity meeting because of alt
• Outdoor speaker deal: Save $20 on the Soundcore Boom 2
• I'm your most oblivious Facebook friend and life is just so good right now, huh?

• Outdoor speaker deal: Save $20 on the Soundcore Boom 2
• 2 Chainz kicks off tour in pink 'trap wheelchair' after breaking his leg
• 20 years later, the N64 will finally get a usable controller
• Estate agent's desperate attempt to exploit nuclear fallout fears goes horribly wrong
• Time to Unite
• LG V30's camera will have some amazing specs
• Finally, there's a dating app that helps geeks find true love
• 12 of the most beautiful office buildings in the world
• Skype is finally shutting down
• 'Call of Duty' figures out how to make loot boxes even more awful