France and Spain are facing a wave of fake weather information spread on social media. These rumors include historic snowstorms in Spain and the harshest winter in France since 1985. Authorities and experts urge vigilance to counter this misinformation.
In recent days, misleading posts have circulated on social media, announcing historic snowfalls and blizzards in the Spanish Pyrenees. Accompanied by old images or those generated by artificial intelligence, these claims prompted Spain's State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) to respond on December 7 on X: « We have reported no “historic snow storm” in the Pyrenees or any other mountain range in Spain. This information is false. We ask everyone to exercise responsibility and only raise alerts when truly necessary. »
In France, similar messages claimed the country was entering « its harshest winter since 1985 ». The Ministry of Ecology refuted this on X: « No, France is not entering its “harshest winter since 1985”. Let us not let false information pollute the climate debate. »
La Chaîne Météo warns of a growing « informational pollution », where artificial intelligence enables the easy creation of sensational content. Florent Schindler, the site's information director, explains: « These contents are often deliberately sensational, produced professionally, with impressive video montages, animations “like TV bulletins”, and sequences that exploit our fascination for spectacle images. » He cites the example of Hurricane Melissa, with fake videos of sharks in streets.
To protect against this, experts recommend checking original sources, dates, and comparing with official updates. Meteorology, a demanding science, should remain the domain of qualified professionals, far from sensation machines.