No tornado 'portal' in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Feb. 15 | Fact check

The claim: Video shows 'portal inside of a tornado' in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Feb. 15

A Feb. 16 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows light emanating from a dark, funnel-shaped cloud.

"Portal inside of a tornado??!!" reads text superimposed over the video. "2/15/2025 Knoxville Tennessee!!!"

The caption of the post says, "Wow portal in Tennessee (sic)."

The video was shared 12,000 times in five days.

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Our rating: False

There was no tornado in Knoxville on Feb. 15, according to an area meteorologist. The video originated on a TikTok account associated with a "video creator."

No Knoxville tornado on Feb. 15

Matt Reagan, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Tennessee, told USA TODAY there was no tornado in Knoxville on Feb. 15.

The video in the post appears to have originated on a TikTok account with the handle @incognitogamingtv. The account includes many videos purportedly showing "portals" and UFOs.

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The user's Instagram account, @Incognito_gaming_tv, identifies the user as a "video creator." The user did not immediately respond to a request for comment, nor did the Facebook user who shared the post.

USA TODAY has debunked multiple videos wrongly claiming to show extreme weather in variouslocations.

Our fact-check sources

• Matt Reagan, Feb. 20, Phone interview with USA TODAY

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