AI-generated video of sudden downpour misleads online

"You said you've never seen a cloudburst... Come, let me show you. Watch with patience, and you'll understand how clouds burst and why a cloudburst becomes so destructive that it sweeps away everything in its path," reads a Hindi-language Facebook post on August 13.

"In the Land of the Gods, such cloudbursts are a common occurrence," the caption continued, using a nickname for India's northern Uttarakhand state. 

The post features a 16-second video apparently showing a torrent of water falling from the sky and flooding a residential street.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on August 22, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The same video was shared alongside claims it showed a genuine cloudburst -- a sudden, violent rainstorm that usually happen in mountainous regions -- on Facebook, X, Instagram and Threads (archived link).

The posts surfaced as India saw two major floods in Uttarakhand and Indian-administered Kashmir that killed dozens of people, both of which Indian officials blamed on cloudbursts (archived links here and here).

Deadly floods and landslides are common during the monsoon season from June to September, but experts say climate change, coupled with urbanisation, is increasing their frequency and severity.

Social media users appeared to believe the circulating video was genuine, with one commenting the phenomenon was "very dangerous". 

"This spectacle of nature's power really creates both fear and awe. The cloudburst reminds us how vulnerable humans are in front of nature," another user wrote.

However, the video is AI-generated.

The false post on Facebook bears a watermark reading "Kandha Odysseys Vines" on its top-right corner, and keyword search on Instagram found a video published by a user with the same handle on August 5 with the caption "Sudden Flood" (archived link).

It also includes a disclaimer reading: "This is AI-generated + VFX touched fictional content for entertainment purposes only."

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Screenshot comparison of the clip shared in the false post (left) and the video posted on Instagram (right)

The clip also contains visual inconsistencies that suggest it was made with AI, such as vehicles in the street remaining in place despite sweeping floodwaters. 

The same account has repeatedly uploaded similar AI-generated videos and states in its bio "AI VFX". 

Kandhasawmy, the owner of the Instagram account and who goes by one name, told AFP on August 22 he enhanced the video using the "image to video" feature available on AI tools such as Runway ML or Kling.

He said he then combined the AI-generated clip with the original footage he filmed, making VFX and sound design adjustments in Adobe Premiere Pro to finalise the edit.

AFP has debunked other false claims about the floods in India. 

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