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‘Bee tornado’ spotted near White House: ‘Is this a biblical curse 2.0?’

Videos circulating across social media showed dense clouds of bees swarming around the White House press corps’ “Pebble Beach” media workspace.

Updated on: May 16, 2026 4:06 AM IST
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A massive swarm of bees has descended on the White House North Lawn today. The swarm of bees gathered in the media area as some witnesses described the scene as a “bee tornado.”

A shooting near the White House prompted a lockdown in parts. (X/@sentdefender)
A shooting near the White House prompted a lockdown in parts. (X/@sentdefender)

Videos circulating across social media showed dense clouds of bees swarming around the White House press corps’ “Pebble Beach” media workspace after a hive reportedly formed in a nearby tree.

The White House had not issued an official statement on the incident as of Thursday evening.

Viral videos fuel online jokes and conspiracy theories

The extraordinary visuals rapidly became a major talking point online. Users started comparing the scene to disaster movies, biblical plagues and apocalyptic symbolism.

Time Capsule Tales wrote on X, “Is this a biblical curse 2.0?”

Another user with a twist of fact and biblical reference wrote, “As much as I want it to be a deathly plague straight from God to curse Trump & his entire administration… it just means a new 🐝 Queen 👑 was born. And that’s actually pretty cool.”

“They are China spy bees! Just ask Alex Jones! 🐝📸,” another user wrote, calling out Jones, who has been labelled a conspiracy theorist by social media.

Some users also compared the scenarios to movies like Sharknado and wrote, “Bee Tornado sounds like a low budget Syfy channel movie that someone pitched after watching Sharknado one too many times.”

  • Shirin Gupta
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shirin Gupta

    Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More