News anchor and rival meteorologist feud on social media over ‘fake’ tornado photo

A Southwest Florida TV weather personality deleted a social media post after publicly accusing a rival station of sharing a fake tornado photo — touching off a public spat over journalistic credibility as AI-generated images become increasingly common. Lauren Kreidler, a meteorologist at WINK News, posted an image of a tornado funnel beneath dark storm clouds over a Cape Coral intersection with a bold red banner reading, “NOT A REAL PICTURE.” In the post, she wrote that the image had been sent into the WINK newsroom during severe storms but insisted it was “NOT a real photo.” The post, which was first revealed by the industry newsletter FTVLive, was later deleted.
Reported by 1 outlet — New York Post. See all sources ↓
A Southwest Florida TV weather personality deleted a social media post after publicly accusing a rival station of sharing a fake tornado photo — touching off a public spat over journalistic credibility as AI-generated images become increasingly common. Lauren Kreidler, a meteorologist at WINK News, posted an image of a tornado funnel beneath dark storm clouds over a Cape Coral intersection with a bold red banner reading, “NOT A REAL PICTURE.” In the post, she wrote that the image had been sent into the WINK newsroom during severe storms but insisted it was “NOT a real photo.” The post, which was first revealed by the industry newsletter FTVLive, was later deleted. The image shows what appears to be a narrow tornado funnel extending from a dark, rotating storm cloud toward the ground above a busy intersection lined with traffic lights, utility lines and passing vehicles. The post prompted a response from Gulf Coast News anchor Peter Busch, who had previously shared the same image.
Read the full report at New York Post ↗
Why it matters
A world story we're tracking; its significance and source trust firm up as more outlets confirm it.
- What's the story?
- A Southwest Florida TV weather personality deleted a social media post after publicly accusing a rival station of sharing a fake tornado photo — touching off a public spat over journalistic credibility as AI-generated images become increasingly common. Lauren Kreidler, a meteorologist at WINK News, posted an image of a tornado funnel beneath dark storm clouds over a Cape Coral intersection with a bold red banner reading, “NOT A REAL PICTURE.” In the post, she wrote that the image had been sent into the WINK newsroom during severe storms but insisted it was “NOT a real photo.” The post, which was first revealed by the industry newsletter FTVLive, was later deleted.
- How widely is it covered?
- 1 outlet, average source rating 5.0/10.
- When was it last updated?
- just now ago.
How outlets are framing the same story
Here's how each outlet is covering the story — compare their headlines and timing at a glance.
- Coverage card1 outlet1CoverageScouting report
News anchor and rival meteorologist feud on social media over ‘fake’ tornado photo
Sources1TypeCoverageNew York Post