Viral video is not a Qld flood, but AI created from a US photo

Blair Wise January 09, 2025
AAP FactCheck Feature Image Update 8 v3
An AI-generated video is doing the rounds on social media. Image by Instagram/AAP

WHAT WAS CLAIMED

Video shows flash flooding event in Queensland.

OUR VERDICT

False. The video is fake.

AAP FACTCHECK - A viral video supposedly showing flash flooding swamping cars in Australia is a fake clip, seemingly generated from a photo taken in the US.

The clip's underlying image matches a photo taken before Hurricane Milton made landfall in October 2024, and experts say the video was likely generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

Video on an Instagram post shows a huge wave crashing into a line of traffic on a suburban street, with overlay text reading "GOONDIWINDI, QUEENSLAND" and "MACINTYRE RIVER".

"First me cotton's soggy, now me fkn cruiser has an inbuilt water feature," the caption reads, along with hashtags including #farmingaustralia, #aussieag and #australianagriculture.

Instagram post sharing fake video of supposed flood wave in QueenslandOverlaid text, along with the caption, suggests the fake video shows Queensland, Australia. (Instagram/AAP)

A reverse image search reveals the clip matches a photo of cars queuing for petrol at a Costco in the lead-up to Hurricane Milton, published by Florida's Orlando Sentinel (7 of 23) in October 2024.

The original photo was taken at an outlet at Altamonte Springs on October 7, 2024, about a kilometre west of the Little Wekiva River.

However, the Costco site is an area of minimal flood hazard, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency mapping.