Hurricane Milton devastated many parts of Florida when it made landfall Oct. 9. Some social media users said the destruction extended to the most magical place on Earth.
“#Breaking News Disney World Destroyed by Hurricane Milton,” read the caption on an Oct. 10 Facebook video.
The video included photos that appeared to show parts of Orlando’s Disney World damaged and covered in debris. Other photos depicted flooding around Cinderella’s Castle in Disney’s Magic Kingdom park.
(Screengrab from Facebook)
An Instagram post also shared these images. The posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)
But Disney World is still standing and open for business. The posts’ photos originated from Mouse Trap News, a website that publishes satirical articles about Disney.
An Oct. 10 Mouse Trap News article with the headline, “Breaking: Disney World Destroyed By Hurricane Milton,” included the same images seen in the Facebook and Instagram posts.
Disney World closed in the afternoon Oct. 9 and remained closed Oct. 10 because of Hurricane Milton. Disney World said Oct. 10 its “ride-out crews” had assessed the hurricane’s impact and the amusement park would reopen and resume normal operations Oct. 11.
PolitiFact contacted Disney World for comment, but did not hear back before publication.
There were no legitimate news reports or images released that described the kind of Disney World flooding seen in the Mouse Trap News photos. The images were similar to other artificial intelligence-generated photos that circulated widely online showing Cinderella’s Castle surrounded by water.
Agence France-Presse and The Guardian reported — and experts told PolitiFact — that Russian state news media amplified the spread of those misleading images online to cast doubt on America’s federal and local leadership.
We rate the claim that photos show Disney World was “destroyed by Hurricane Milton” False.
Truth-o-meter Ruling
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The photos originated from a satirical website.
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Walt Disney World announced Oct. 10 that its theme parks would reopen and resume normal operations Oct. 11.
Statement
Context
a postSpeaker/Target
Statement Date
Our Sources
Facebook post (archived version), Oct. 10, 2024
Instagram post (archived version), Oct. 10, 2024
Mouse Trap News, "Breaking: Disney World Destroyed By Hurricane Milton" (archived version), Oct. 10, 2024
Walt Disney World, X post, Oct. 9, 2024
Walt Disney World, X post, Oct. 10, 2024
PolitiFact, "Are foreign adversaries China and Russia amplifying hurricane misinformation? Early signs say yes," Oct. 14, 2024
Agence France-Presse, "AI-generated images of Hurricane Milton damage at Disney World spread online | Fact Check," Oct. 10, 2024
The Guardian, "Russia shares AI images of Hurricane Milton as disinformation abounds in US," Oct. 10, 2024
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