Fact Check: Image of exploded toilet in Hong Kong falsely linked to device explosions in Lebanon
Two separate explosions involving pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon on September 17-18 led to over 30 deaths and left thousands injured.
By Sibahathulla Sakib Published on 19 Sep 2024 12:58 PM GMT
Claim: The image shows a recently exploded toilet in Lebanon amid rising tensions with Israel.
Fact: The claim is false. The image is of a public toilet at King George V Memorial Park, Hong Kong in 2020.
Hyderabad: Two waves of explosions of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon on September 17-18 resulted in more than 30 fatalities with thousands being injured, with many calling Israel as the mastermind behind the explosions targeting the Hezbollah.
Against this backdrop, an X user posted an image of an exploded commode inside a public toilet claiming it as the aftermath of one of the recent explosions.
An X user shared an image and wrote, āEven commodes are exploding in Beirut, Lebanon. Mossad is dominating...even Hezbollah terrorists are afraid to go to the toilet. What will explode next ...maybe some kitchen pots?ā (Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The image of the exploded toilet is from Hong Kong in 2020.
A reverse image search led to a report published by the South China Morning Post titled āUnexploded IED found at Shenzhen border control point, after suspected bomb destroys second Hong Kong toilet in 24 hours.ā The report published the same image on January 28, 2020.
This indicated that the image was old.
The image was also found on the website inkl which published the same SCMP article and captioned the image: āA suspected improvised explosive device destroyed a public toilet at the King George V Memorial Park on Jordan Road in West Kowloon on January 27.ā
According to the article, the toilet was set ablaze by a suspected homemade bomb and the incident was followed by the discovery of an IED in a rubbish bin at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point.
According to the report, a small device, reportedly containing a nitrate-based explosive, was found at the border station by a security guard around 10:25 am on Tuesday. The discovery prompted a response from approximately 20 police officers in riot gear. No injuries were reported.
The report also added that following the border station incident, a message on the encrypted Telegram platform appeared to take responsibility, echoing sentiments from a statement released after Mondayās explosion at Caritas Medical Centre in Cheung Sha Wan (the site of the first explosion). The message declared the event as a āstarting pointā and issued an ultimatum, calling for the government to shut down the border within 48 hours.
Using relevant keywords, we also found a report published by the China Daily titled, āBomb threat at public toilet at Shenzhen Bay Portā dated January 28, 2020. The report mentioned the blast in a public toilet at King George V Memorial Park in the cityās Kowloon district.
Hence, the claim that the image shows a recently exploded toilet in Lebanon is false. The image is from a public toilet in Hong Kong in 2020.
