Fact Check: Bolivian Parliament collapses in earthquake? No, video is AI-generated
A video claiming that the Bolivian Parliament Assembly Hall collapsed during a recent earthquake, killing 50-90 people, is going viral on social media.
By M Ramesh Naik
Claim:A 5.4 magnitude earthquake in Bolivia caused its Parliament Assembly Hall to collapse, resulting in 50-90 deaths.
Fact:The claim is false. The video is AI-generated and digitally manipulated to look real.
Hyderabad: Following a 5.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Bolivia’s Potosí region on July 3, a video began circulating on social media claiming to show the collapse of the Bolivian Parliament’s Assembly Hall during the tremors, allegedly causing 50 to 90 deaths.
The clip shows what appears to be a Parliament session in progress, suddenly interrupted by the violent shaking of the structure. In seconds, the ceiling and walls cave in, debris rains down, and people are seen fleeing in chaos.
A Facebook user shared the video with the caption, “Assembly in Bolivia collapses due to earthquake” (Archive)
Similar claims can be seen here and here. (Archive 1, Archive 2)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The viral video is AI-generated and does not depict any real event.
We began the investigation by conducting a keyword search for news reports related to the ‘Bolivian Parliament collapse’ or mass casualties at any of the country’s government buildings during the July 3 quake. We found no such reports. Neither Bolivian mainstream media nor official government bulletins made any mention of a structural collapse or deaths inside the Parliament.
The San Calixto Observatory, Bolivia’s official seismic monitoring agency, reported that the quake occurred in the Nor Lípez province of Potosí but made no mention of damage to major government buildings or any casualties. This hinted that the video could have been artificially created and did not show a real event.
We closely analysed the footage and identified several telltale signs of digital fabrication.
In multiple frames, individuals are seen glitching, some abruptly vanish mid-frame or have distorted limbs. These are typical signs of AI-generated or heavily manipulated videos. The movement of bodies lacks consistency with real human physics, and shadows and lighting change unnaturally from one frame to another, all strong indicators of artificial generation.
To verify the origin of the video, we performed a reverse image search of the video’s thumbnail.
It led us to a November 2024 post on the official website of the Bolivian Chamber of Deputies about new committees and commissions for the 2024-2025 legislative period.
The photo used in the post showed the same hall in perfect condition, with no damage, collapsed ceiling or dust, and it was taken during a normal legislative session. The background, seating and angles in the viral video match this still image, confirming that the AI-generated video was likely constructed using this real image as a reference.
A side-by-side comparison of the thumbnail and the original image confirmed that the viral video repurposed this still image to create a fabricated scene of destruction.
Even though AI detection tools could not definitively flag the video as manipulated, the clear visual artefacts and lack of supporting online evidence confirm it is inauthentic. There are no credible reports backing the claim, and the source image is proven to be pre-existing and unrelated.
NewsMeter concludes that the claim is false. The viral video showing the Bolivian Parliament collapsing due to an earthquake is AI-generated. The footage was generated by manipulating a real image from the Bolivian Chamber of Deputies to fabricate a disaster that never occurred.
