Modern Mysteries

Viral clip shows woman from non-existent country 'Torenza'... or does it?

By T.K. Randall
October 22, 2025 ·  6 comments

Image: United Nations Flags
Credit: Tom Page / CC BY-SA 2.0 (adapted) Earlier this month, rumors started to circulate of a woman who had turned up at John F. Kennedy International Airport with a passport from 'Torenza' - a country that doesn't actually exist - before mysteriously disappearing.

A widely shared Facebook post maintained that the passport hadn't otherwise raised any red flags and that the woman had seemed confused about her alleged home country not being recognized.

All of her documents, tickets and personal ID information showed the same country of origin.

The story goes that she had told security guards "Then this isn't my world", before being taken into a secure back room for questioning, alongside all of her luggage and belongings.

According to the tale, by the next morning she had completely disappeared, bags and all.

No trace of her was ever found.The story has since been circulated widely online, prompting a great deal of debate and speculation.

The trouble is, none of it is actually true - the entire story is completely made up.

When AFP conducted a fact check on the case, they discovered that the clip of the woman at the airport was actually taken from a mid-2000s US reality TV show called Airline.

The woman shown was just a regular passenger and there was no mention of 'Torenza'.

AFP also found no credible reports from airport or immigration officials confirming that such an incident had ever actually taken place.

It just goes to show how easy it is these days for a hoax to spread online.

Source: AFP | Comments (6)

Tags: Torenza