Cyclone ‘Arnab’: When Even Mainstream Media Gets It Wrong
A viral video falsely linked to Cyclone Arnab has misled social media users- and even mainstream media has made the mistake. Our fact-check traces the footage to its true origins and separates fact from fiction.
Cyclone Arnab is expected to hit the Andhra Pradesh coast, bringing heavy rainfall, strong winds, and flooding by October 28. The IMD issued a red alert for Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu issued a caution ahead of the cyclone.
Following this alert, a flurry of misleading visuals has flooded social media, particularly X, with users falsely sharing visuals showing the cyclone’s fierce winds and destruction in Andhra Pradesh. Several news outlets’ social media handles also shared similar videos with the same claim.
OBC identified these claims as misleading.
The viral claims
‘Nature’s wrath’
On 28 October, an X user, Dinesh Lilawat INC (@DineshLilawatIN), posted a video showing strong winds sweeping through the area and causing destruction.
The caption written in Hindi translates to: ‘Cyclone Arnab’s Fierce Winds! Cyclone Arnab’s fierce winds are raging, reaching speeds of up to 150 km per hour. Nature’s wrath is clearly visible! Stay safe and follow local weather warnings. #CycloneArnab.’
As of 8 October, the video has received 29.9k views and 278 likes.
Several other social media accounts in India have also circulated similar videos. The official Instagram page of Zee News shared the same video with the caption, ‘Cyclone Arnab hits Andhra Pradesh, schools-colleges-electricity shut down, heavy rain in Odisha too, many videos of Arnab’s havoc go viral on social media #AndhraPradesh #CycloneArnab #IMDAlert #StormVideos #ViralVideos #ZeeNews.’
As of 28 October, the video has amassed 740k views, 22.8k likes, and 576 reshares.
Similarly, 24 News’s international handle (@24.international) shared a similar video on Instagram.
This post quickly gained traction, receiving 216k views, 2.5k likes, and 1182 reshares.
The posts drew mixed reactions, ranging from serious concern about the severe weather to scepticism towards news coverage. One user wrote, “Nature’s power is truly incredible. Stay alert, stay safe, and follow official weather advisories ”. Another user remarked, “The condition of Indian news channels has deteriorated a lot.”
We conducted a reverse image search using keyframes from the viral video, which led us to a YouTube video uploaded by TOI Bharat on 16 March, 2026, titled ‘ Odisha: Massive Tornado Rips Through Mayurbhanj, Damages 100+ Houses; 2 Dead, Several Injured.’
According to the video’s description, a severe nor’wester tornado struck Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, killing at least two people, injuring several others, and damaging over 100 homes. The storm uprooted trees and power poles, blocked roads, and caused extensive damage, particularly in the villages of Kia, Panapsi, and Dumuria.
Upon further keyword searches, we found several other videos and news reports from Hindustan Times and NDTV confirming that the footage was from 15 March. The reports detailed a nor’wester-triggered tornado that struck four villages in Mayurbhanj’s Karanjia block, leaving two people dead and 29 injured.
Therefore, both Zee News and 24 International shared unrelated visuals about Cyclone Arnab.
‘Stay safe everyone’
On 28 October, an X user, @HappiX, shared a video showing what appears to be strong winds and heavy rainfall sweeping through trees and buildings. The caption reads: “ Nature showing its power. Cyclone Arnab making landfall. Stay safe, everyone.”
The post gained around 2000 views.
Upon conducting a reverse image search, we found that the video was not recent, but dated 19 April 2026.
A Facebook page named Indian Monsoon shared the same footage and identified it as being from Kaimaparambu in Kerala, which had experienced a heavy thunderstorm.
‘Cyclone Arnab ravages Visakhapatnam’
A viral X post by Prof. (Dr.) Suchintan Singh (@suchintan_singh) shows heavy rainfall and strong winds ravaging the area. The post is captioned, “Cyclone Arnab wreaking havoc in Visakhapatnam ”
This post quickly gained traction, receiving 132.7k views and 2.4k likes.
We analysed the viral post and performed a reverse image search on the video’s key visuals, finding that they matched the incident reported by the New York Post and Newsweek.
These posts identify the video as showing Super Typhoon Bavi hitting Rota with 150 mph winds, causing severe damage across Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, not India.
From these findings, it is clear that the visuals being circulated as footage of ‘Cyclone Arnab’ are old, unrelated videos from different cyclones. The first video shows a nor’wester-triggered tornado that struck Mayurbhanj district in Odisha on 15 March 2026. The second is from a thunderstorm in Kaimaparambu, Kerala, dated 19 April 2026. The third shows Super Typhoon Bavi hitting Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands, not India.
This is yet another instance of old, unrelated footage being repurposed during a natural disaster to spread misinformation and mislead the public.
