TikTok and how DANA phenomenon hoaxes accumulate millions and millions of views without the social network stopping it

On Tuesday 29 October 2024, a DANA (the Spanish acronym for high-altitude isolated depression) caused flooding in different municipalities in the province of Valencia and other eastern regions of Spain. That same day, hoaxes and conspiracy theories began to circulate about the disaster and its consequences. Emergency situations such as this one become an ideal scenario for the emergence of disinformation, and social networks (and some influencers) are a loudspeaker for these false messages. 

This is how TikTok worked. Maldita.es has found 129 videos with more than 10,000 views that give visibility to different hoaxes (some of them with millions of views and thousands of likes), although there are many more with fewer views. All together they have more than 120 million views. In theory, the platform claims that it does not allow disinformation “that could provoke panic about a crisis or emergency situation”, but the videos are still published and so are the comments to these videos that feed conspiracy theories. The platform does warn users that in the face of natural disasters they should get information from “official sources”.

Bonaire shopping center (Aldaia) hoaxes accumulate millions of views on TikTok

The Bonaire shopping center in Aldaia (Valencia) has been the subject of many hoaxes and disinformation following the arrival of the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain in the province. At Maldita.es we have already debunked more than a dozen of them, but many of them are still circulating on TikTok at the time of publication of this text. The videos that spread these false messages are the most popular on the platform: we have located at least 85 different videos with more than 80 million views. These are only videos with more than 10,000 views; below this threshold, there are more videos with disinformation content.

The narrative that has become the most viral is the one that claims that a diver who was working in the shopping center's parking lot said it was a ‘graveyard’ and claimed that ‘thousands of dead people’ would come out. This example has more than 14 million views and this one more than 2 million, but the total number of videos spreading this disinformation is more than 17 million views.

This audio of an apparently UME sergeant claiming to have found ‘200 children’ dead in the underground parking lot is the one that has been repeated most often among the content analyzed by Maldita.es. It has been found on 18 occasions, with a total of more than 16 million reproductions. Another video with significant recurrence on the platform (more than 11 million views in total) is the one that claims to have seen a refrigerated truck leaving the Bonaire shopping center transporting bodies.

But these are not the only disinformation and conspiracy theories about the passage of the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain over Bonaire that, as of 11 November 2024, are circulating on TikTok. These are all the ones found during our analysis:

• Image (taken out of context) of a “diver” allegedly crying at the sight of “dead people” in the shopping center parking lot. With 8.5 million views in the eleven videos analyzed. This example was published a week ago and has already reached over 5 million views.

• Audio stating that there were “more than 800 people dead”. The seven contents that reproduce this voice message (in different profiles) have more than 6.5 million views.

• The fireman who said on Antena 3 that he hoped “that there would be less people on the 2nd floor”. Although he did not actually talk about Bonaire (but about a car park in a supermarket in Catarroja), there are at least eleven videos that do link him to the Aldaia shopping center. And these have a total of more than 6 million views. 

• Audio saying that “258 bodies” had been found in the car park has been shared in at least four different videos on TikTok, with almost one million views. 

• Image of a refrigerated truck supposedly to take away the bodies found in Bonaire and hide them. In fact, the image was captured on 31 October at the Valencia fairgrounds (Paterna), but there are at least four videos that have spread this narrative and have reached 800,000 views.

• A theory that there were 700 cars inside because these were the tickets that had been counted in the parking access system (although, in fact, it is free and has no such system). A single video (possibly not the only one with this narrative) has almost 200,000 views.

  

  As you can see, the number of possible victims in the flooded parking lot has been the subject of speculation from the moment of the disaster. In fact, there are several videos analyzed by Maldita.es (some with millions of views) that claim that victims have indeed been found. The truth is that the emergency services that were working in the Bonaire parking lot have not located any victims inside. On 5 November, the director of the National Police, Francisco Pardo, stated in a press conference that it was “a hoax” that there were dead people in this location. Here you can read the whole chronology from the appearance of these disinformations until the emergency work was finished.

  In addition, we have also found a video (with more than 25,000 reproductions) that spreads an audio in which supposedly the sports councilman of the City Hall of Mislata (Valencia) says that in the underground car park of the shopping center MN4 (which is in Alfafar and not in Mislata) they found 90 dead people. From the council they claim that no councilman of Mislata Town Hall has made such statements and the Provincial Consortium of Firefighters of Malaga, in charge of the clean-up and rescue work at the site, say they have not found “not a single dead body” in the MN4.

  DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain ‘caused by HAARP’ or weather radar: other disinformation narratives that continue on TikTok

  More than a week after the catastrophe, videos continue to go viral with messages claiming that the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain is a “HAARP weather attack”. HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) is a system that supposedly emits radio waves to a very distant part of the atmosphere that can cause torrential rains and floods. This is the example of this video with more than 2.9 million views or this one (with more than 2 million views).

  The truth is that it does not have the capacity to affect the weather because its signal does not affect the lower layers of the atmosphere, which is where weather events originate. The system would need much more energy than it uses to generate a cyclone, for example, according to two experts consulted by Maldita.es.

  Weather radars were also accused of ‘’causing‘’ the heavy rains that affected different areas of Spain a few weeks ago. Several users have posted videos on TikTok that defend this theory (some of them, such as this example, have more than a million views in less than a week). In fact, they are used to locate storms and follow their evolution, but they are not able to move them. 

  The radar located in the province of Valencia has even been blamed for being inoperative (like this video with more than 700,000 views), when it was actually operational during the emergency caused by the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain of 29 and 30 October 2024. In addition, the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) does not need the performance of this radar to predict rainfall.

  At Maldita.es we have located up to 21 videos on the platform (with more than 10,000 reproductions) that spread these two theories. As of today (11 November) they are still available and have more than 10,2 million views in total.

  

  To these numbers we could add another disinformative narrative that claims that the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain was provoked “to ruin the Spanish orange collection” and favor the sale of this Moroccan product. The three examples detected in our analysis add up to 62,000 reproductions and, at the date of publication of this text, are still available (and increasing in number of views). Be careful with these contents because although there are some programmes to try to modify the weather in a specific way, they have very limited results that could not create something similar to a DANA phenomenon. Moreover, only four of the 15 orange varieties are harvested at this time of the year.

  ‘Netflix predicted the DANA phenomenon in Valencia months before it happened’: a conspiracy theory with more than 7 million views

  A few days after the disaster, a conspiracy theory emerged claiming that the Netflix series ‘Respira’ announced in August 2024 that Valencia would be affected by a DANA phenomenon. At this moment (11 November), there are still videos on TikTok spreading this idea. Maldita.es has located three of these contents: two of them have more than 3 million reproductions (in total, 7 million).

  

  These and similar content shared on other social networks provide no evidence to support these statements and are based on the “negative primacy” conspiracy theory (which argues that major disasters are caused by ‘elites’ and advertised in a disguised form through fictions).

  ¿Crees que te ha llegado un bulo? Verifica en nuestro chatbot de WhatsApp (+34 644 229 319)

  Disinformation narratives blaming the consequences of the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain on the alleged ‘destruction of dams and reservoirs’

  Dams and reservoirs have been another focus of disinformation in the disaster's epicenter. It is still possible to see content on TikTok that blames the supposed destruction of these infrastructures for the consequences of this disaster. There are at least five videos claiming that dams and reservoirs have been demolished in Spain, which has ‘increased the risk of flooding’. These alone have more than five million views on TikTok.

  

  As we have already explained in Maldita.es, neither reservoirs nor large dams have been destroyed in the Júcar Hydrographic Demarcation, the one most affected by the floods and which includes the province of Valencia. Small dams have been demolished for flood safety, legal obligation and ecosystem restoration.

  The river obstacles in the Júcar Hydrographic Demarcation were removed between 2006 and 2021. And the last demolitions in the province of Valencia were carried out in 2006 and 2022. It is not possible to verify what would have happened if the hypothetical world imagined by these contents existed, but we can explain how small dams have been demolished.

  “More people are dead than we are told” and conspiracy theories about alleged government opacity

  At least five videos (with almost 3 million views) are running on TikTok claiming that the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain has left more victims than the official statistics show. They are based on the number of forensic doctors who have been working in Valencia during the catastrophe. Here we tell you why the deployment of ‘100 forensic doctors’ in Valencia because of the DANA phenomenon does not mean that there have been ‘many, many more’ dead.

  To this amount we should add this other example, which was published three days ago and has more than 1,3 million views, in which a supposed military man claims that there are 5.000 dead in Valencia. Be careful with this content because the protagonist is not a military man, he does not provide proof of what he claims, and the Judiciary has jurisdiction over the deaths. 

  

  These videos have become a space for speculation and conspiracy theories that claim that the government is ‘hiding the real number of deaths’ caused by the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain . ‘According to the TV there are no deaths [in the Alfafar-Benetússer tunnel], who believes that?’ or “It's sad to see that they don't say how many people have died” are some of the messages that can be read in these TikTok posts. The app also fails to take action to limit disinformation and conspiratorial messages in the comments.

  

  The way this conspiracy theory is set out, many people would have to be involved in hiding the alleged deceased (the emergency services teams that worked in the area, the local councils, local residents and even the central government). A 2016 study calculated the possibility that a conspiracy involving many people could be kept secret with the passage of time. Here we explain that, if we were to apply it to the disinformation related to the deaths caused by the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain, it could not be kept hidden, it would soon fail.

  The official number of people killed by the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain up to 8 November is 219 dead, of whom 167 have been identified. In the Valencian Community 211 deaths have been confirmed, in Castilla-La Mancha seven deaths and in Andalusia one death. This figure is not definitive and may continue to rise. 

  The false death count in the Alfafar-Benetússer tunnel, an example of a hoax going international

  Tens of thousands of views have also been registered in this video showing the tunnel that connects the Valencian municipalities of Alfafar and Benetússer after the passage of the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain. Other accounts have also replicated this video on the social network. Maldita.es has located four videos that defend this narrative and, in total, have more than 2.6 million views.

  The person recording the images speculates about the number of people who may have been stuck there and ends up affirming that ‘dozens’ of dead people will be found. The Provincial Consortium of Firefighters of Malaga (CPB) told Maldita.es that “no deaths were found” and that at no time did they say that there were bodies there. A farmer who claims to have helped free the tunnel has also said that no bodies were found.

  This video has gone viral in other languages, reaching a larger audience. Corriere della Sera, an Italian newspaper, has played the same video on its TikTok account (which as of 11 November has more than 1.7 million views) with the following message: ‘Firefighters in Valencia: Victims discovered trapped in cars in a flooded tunnel’. In the text that accompanies the publication, one can read some supposed declarations by Salvador Olivas, head of a team of 14 firefighters from Malaga, in which he affirmed that inside the tunnel there were ‘some 30 or 40 cars with several victims inside’.

  

  This is not the only hoax that has been translated into other languages. There are images showing a line of cars that are shared with messages stating that ‘it is the escort of the King of Spain and Pedro Sánchez’ (President of the Government) entering Paiporta (Valencia) on Sunday 3 November 2024 (in fact, this is a hoax: they are cars from the Municipal Police of Madrid that travel to Valencia to help with the work of the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain). This hoax was spread and amplified by Russian channels and websites in several languages (Spanish, Russian and Arabic) and has reached countries such as Italy, France and Greece. 

  The hoaxes about the government's aid for victims of the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain

  On 7 November 2024, the television programme Espejo Público interviewed a woman who claimed that she had to pay back the 6.000 euros in aid for the rehabilitation of her house affected by the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain. This content has also gone viral on TikTok, where a single video with this disinformation has more than 1,6 million views in three days. Today it can still be played within the app.

  In Maldita.es we have already explained what we know about these comments: the woman does not say which government she is referring to (whether it is the Valencian Community or the Spanish government). In case she refers to the aid approved by the Generalitat on 4 November, it will only have to be returned in the cases set out in the General Law on Subsidies (such as, for example, if the documents accrediting the obtaining of the aid have been falsified). In case this benefit is provided by the central government, it will not have to be returned, as it is “direct aid from the Spanish government” and not a “loan”, as the government has clarified in a tweet.

  TikTok warns users to get information ‘from official sources’ and says it does not allow ‘disinformation that could cause harm’, but the videos are still posted

  More than a week has passed since the DANA phenomenon passed over Spain and still today (11 November) there are videos on TikTok that give voice to these conspiracy theories and disinformation about the disaster. When you do a search on the platform related to this episode, a message appears recommending that you get information from ‘reliable sources’ for ‘safety’.

  

  In the “More information” area, the social network warns that: “When events happen quickly, content may not always be accurate”. And it recommends “caution” when interacting with sensitive content. As official sources, it links to the website of the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) and the General Directorate of Traffic “for updated information on the state of the roads in your area”.

  

  Beyond recommendations, TikTok says in its Community Policy that it does not allow “disinformation that may cause significant harm to specific individuals or society, regardless of its intent”. Among them, it highlights that which ”may cause panic about a crisis or emergency situation”. However, videos disseminating disinformation related to the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain and giving voice to different conspiracy theories continue to be available on this social network (together with millions of views). Comments along the same lines also continue to be posted. 

  How does TikTok decide if a content is fake? They explain, with “independent fact-checking partners, with guidance from public health authorities” and by analyzing “previous verified claims” from their database. If they qualify it as disinformation and believe it “may cause moderate harm”, they say it is excluded from the recommendations page (FYF). They add that “unverified emergency information and content temporarily under review” also does not appear in this section of the app (in theory). This content can be accessed if the user performs a search on TikTok.

  

  Emergency situations are a favorable situation for the emergence of hoaxes. At Maldita.es we continue to debunk hoaxes and disinformation related to the DANA phenomenon in Valencia and eastern regions of Spain and various conspiracy theories since last Tuesday 29 October. It is essential: trust only official sources and, when in doubt, it is preferable not to share them. Here you can consult tools and sources for information on the DANA phenomenon that is sweeping across Spain.