An AI-generated video showing Lake Como in Italy drying up turned out to be fake
A video claiming that Lake Como in northern Italy has completely dried up due to a “geological fault” is a hoax created using artificial intelligence. The clip, featuring footage of mud, rocks, boats left high and dry, and docks along an empty shore, has garnered over 600,000 views on X and TikTok.
According to France 24, the video’s original source was the TikTok account @naturevsia. Its profile states “AI News” and includes a warning that all videos on the page are generated by artificial intelligence. France 24 characterizes this account as a fake media outlet that creates sensationalist, false videos.
A satellite image from the European Sentinel-2 satellite, taken on August 13, 2026, and available on the Copernicus platform, confirms that Lake Como remains full of water. The lake’s perimeter is approximately 170 kilometers.
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Footage from a webcam in Tremezzo, located west of Bellagio, recorded on August 14, also does not support claims that the water is receding in this part of the lake.
At the same time, the water level in Lake Como is indeed dropping due to the drought. According to the Italian local publication La Provincia di Como, as of August 1, the water level was at least 30.2 centimeters below hydrographic zero—the baseline for measuring fluctuations in the lake’s water level. This brought the level close to the lowest levels recorded four years ago. Lake Como’s maximum depth is 418 meters.
