Re-used tornado video from 6/12/04

[mikedeason]

Is there any evidence at all that there was in fact a tornado where and when he claiming he filmed it? The LiveLeak link says it was the 7th... A quick check at SPC shows no tornado reports from NE for that date, and no severe at all near Valentine. Was there even a storm there? I don't see how he could maintain his claims if there wasn't.

There is a report of a tornado near Valentine on the 5th. All the news stories I've seen just said it was footage recorded "over the weekend." But if he did put it out there as being on the 7th, you'd think he would have correlated it with the SPC storm reports and/or LBF's LSR.

 

[Dann Cianca]

It would likely have to have been the 5th.
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/reports/080705_rpts.html

It would be interesting to see if the tornado report was falsified too to back up the video ... I wonder if the weather service has record of the reporter...

 

[Mike Peregrine]

Wow ... this has certainly been the year of the scandal around this place. Most of them revolved around the same rehashed subjects that come up year after year and few of the long timers were interested in getting involved, but this particular one was special (and memorable) in so many ways! ... This time I just had to say thanks!

 

[mikedeason]

It would be interesting to see if the tornado report was falsified too to back up the video ... I wonder if the weather service has record of the reporter...

From the LBF LSR:

000
NWUS53 KLBF 061025
LSRLBF

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTH PLATTE NE
525 AM CDT SUN JUL 06 2008

..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..

0335 PM FUNNEL CLOUD 3 W VALENTINE 42.87N 100.61W
07/05/2008 CHERRY NE LAW ENFORCEMENT

0340 PM TORNADO 2 W VALENTINE 42.87N 100.59W
07/05/2008 CHERRY NE LAW ENFORCEMENT

BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHDOWN 2 MILES WEST OF VALENTINE.

Law enforcement reported, standard caveat applies.

 

[Mikey Gribble]

I've never understood the strategy of digging a deeper hole when you are busted. It's blatantly obvious that he faked the video. Everybody knows it. What good could possibly come of sticking to your guns on this deal and swearing up and down that it's real. It reminds me of the stolen picture incident on here a couple years ago lol. Just come clean for gods sake!!! This has to be more than a little embarrassing for Fabel lol.

 

[Dave Kaplow]

I've never understood the strategy of digging a deeper hole when you are busted. It's blatantly obvious that he faked the video. Everybody knows it. What good could possibly come of sticking to your guns on this deal and swearing up and down that it's real. It reminds me of the stolen picture incident on here a couple years ago lol. Just come clean for gods sake!!! This has to be more than a little embarrassing for Fabel lol.

That's just what I was thinking. If he had just come here on ST and said "yeah, I'm sorry guys, I know I screwed up but I really needed the money..." I would have saluted him for his honesty.

 

[mikedeason]

I've never understood the strategy of digging a deeper hole when you are busted. It's blatantly obvious that he faked the video. Everybody knows it. What good could possibly come of sticking to your guns on this deal and swearing up and down that it's real. It reminds me of the stolen picture incident on here a couple years ago lol. Just come clean for gods sake!!! This has to be more than a little embarrassing for Fabel lol.

There's certainly precedent for it. If you search back in the ST archives about 3 years ago a somewhat similar situation occurred (which you mention above). However, for whatever reason, the dishonest individual who denied the allegations and even to this day denies any wrongdoing has since went on to become a seemingly well respected member of ST.

People like these two have no shame in what they do. That's the thing that really makes all this sad. To some people, this type of behavior is as natural to them as telling the truth and being honest is to the majority of the rest of us.

 

[jeremy wilson]

My father (also a weather nut) called to inform me of chasers faking tornado video. Several people at his work who know I chase also learned of it and jokingly asked my dad if the pictures sitting on his desk of my tornados were real.

Thanks Andy.

 

[Darin Brunin]

ummmmmmm Billy.........this is probably the kind of thread you might want to steer clear of.

 

[Mike Peregrine]

So much for staying safely anonymous - LOL.

It doesn't happen often, but I love this place so very, very much sometimes.

 

[Brian Stertz]

From the AP story today:

Fabel told the AP on Thursday that he legitimately filmed the Nebraska storm. He said fellow storm chasers are "jealous of you if you got a tornado that they wanted. They'll pack it up and try to crucify you."

Jealous ???. Over a hundred chasers/public citizens saw this tornado as it happened. So how does this somehow equate to chaser jealousy and envy? Fabels Fables the newest hit video to hit the Dollar General shelves.

 

[Mike Ridgeway]

I know that Dan didn't want the publicity this has generated, however, bringing this to our attention was a very good thing for chasers and other storm enthusiasts. There is a huge lesson to be learned here and I'll bet this type of thing doesn't happen again!

 

[James Langford]

Well, this video ends all debate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI4Dsuf_OcU

Well, there you go. I thought that Dan earlier said that it wasn't his video that was stolen?

EDIT:
Nevermind. This video here is just Dan showing how when the footage is modified, it looks very similar to what was submitted to the AP. The submitted video is zoomed in a bit closer, but definately seems to be the same tornado.

James

 

[Ryan McGinnis]

Well, there you go. I thought that Dan earlier said that it wasn't his video that was stolen?

James

It wasn't. Page back in the thread a bit to understand what you're seeing in that Youtube video.

 

[Doug_Kiesling]

Latest AP update

Here is the latest from AP. Sounds like all the networks are pissed off at Andy and the last part of the story really hits hard from Fox News Channel.

AP-Tornado-Video/480
Tornado videographer denies doctoring footage
By DAVID BAUDER
AP Television Writer
NEW YORK (AP) _ A storm chaser accused of doctoring old tornado video and selling it under the pretense that it was taken last week in Nebraska denied wrongdoing Thursday, suggesting that professional jealousy was behind the allegation.

The Associated Press and video services operated by CBS, NBC and Fox pulled the video late Tuesday after determining that there was enough evidence to question its authenticity.

Andy Fabel agreed to sell the footage for $295 to The Associated Press, and also made it available to the other news organizations. The AP has purchased tornado video from Fabel on three previous occasions.

A fellow storm chaser, Dan Robinson of Appalachian Skies Media, contacted the AP to say he believed Fabel's video was a doctored version of images taken of another twister that touched down four years ago in Rock, Kan.

Fabel told the AP on Thursday that he legitimately filmed the Nebraska storm. He said fellow storm chasers are "jealous of you if you got a tornado that they wanted. They'll pack it up and try to crucify you."

Robinson said the image was "flipped" to make it seem the tornado was pointed in another direction, and the action sped up. The supposed Nebraska footage includes power lines not seen in the Kansas storm; it also is minus trees shown in the Kansas images.

Robinson said he was familiar with the Kansas storm because he, too, had filmed it from a similar angle. He said at least four other storm chasers who had witnessed the Kansas storm agreed on an Internet forum that the video was from Kansas.

The AP had sent Fabel's video Sunday to nearly 2,000 Web sites that subscribe to the company's Online Video Network, and more than 60 large digital customers that buy AP's online content individually. Upon seeing the evidence, the AP eliminated the video from OVN and contacted its other customers to urge them not to use it, said Kevin Roach, the AP's acting head of domestic broadcast news operations.

"We never want to mislead people," Roach said. "Based on evidence provided to us, we believe that the video was not authentic."
The NBC, CBS and Fox services provide video to the networks' affiliates. They had agreed to buy Fabel's video and distributed it, then took it off their servers on Tuesday after suspicions were raised, representatives for the networks said.

"There was enough evidence for us to make it suspect," said Sharon Houston, an executive producer with NBC News Channel.

John Stack, vice president of newsgathering for Fox News Channel, said Fabel has been one of the top storm chasers relied upon by media for tornado pictures. Now he said Fabel's work is suspect.

"The concern is whether he's an actual newsgatherer or Cecil B. DeMille," Stack said.