Viral Dual Hurricane Hoax Currently Taking Louisiana Social Media by Storm

As the weekend approached, Louisiana residents were startled by the news of a potentially historic event: two simultaneous hurricanes forming in the Gulf of Mexico. The alarming forecast shared widely on social media, suggested that both tropical depressions were set to strengthen into Category 1 hurricanes by early next week, with nearly the entire Gulf Coast in their path.

The post, originally shared by a user named Randall Cargo, quickly went viral, amassing over 12,000 shares. The image shared with the post, which appears to be a "First Alert 12" (could be numerous NBC affiliates) forecast map, was captioned with the following:

“TWO HURRICANES SIMULTANEOUSLY: The latest forecast from the NHC shows both tropical depressions strengthening into category 1 hurricanes early next week as they head across the Gulf of Mexico. Nearly the entire Gulf Coast is in one of the two forecast cones. We've NEVER seen two simultaneous hurricanes in the Gulf, and it's very possible we won't again in our lifetime.”

The only problem? None of it was true.

The storms, the forecast, and even the dates were all fabricated. In reality, the weather map used in the post was from a 2020 forecast, repurposed to create a false sense of urgency and panic. Despite the clear inaccuracies, the post continued gaining traction, raising concerns about spreading misinformation on social media platforms.

In an era where tech giants like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk constantly discuss efforts to curb the spread of false information, the persistence of this post raises questions. How can such blatantly inaccurate content remain live and widely shareable after days on platforms like Facebook?

This is what the bottom-of-the-barrel "content creators" do. By crafting sensational and misleading content, they aim to increase their followers, likes, and shares, often at the expense of public trust and safety. While blatant misinformation, like the fake hurricane post, is relatively easy to spot, subtler forms of content manipulation, such as copying viral videos without crediting the original creator, are rampant.

Local meteorologists and news outlets have been quick to debunk the hoax, assuring residents that there is no imminent threat of dual hurricanes. However, the misinformation remains online three days after the initial post, continuing to mislead those who come across it.

If you're going to share anything, share this post so people know the truth. Hopefully, it will slow down the sharing and cause people to be more vigilant in the future.