Fact Check: Old videos of disasters falsely linked to earthquake in Taiwan
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading, as both the videos are old and are unrelated to the recent earthquake in Taiwan.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 3 April 2024 2:00 PM GMT
Claim: The two videos show the visuals of the earthquake in Taiwan.
Fact: The first video depicts the shaking of a train after an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck the southeast coast of Taiwan in 2022, while the second video shows a building collapse after a quake hit Turkey in 2023.
On March 3, a powerful earthquake struck Taiwan, claiming the lives of at least seven people and injuring nearly 730 others. The seismic activity caused significant damage to numerous buildings and triggered tsunami warnings, which extended beyond Japan and the Philippines.
Against this backdrop, two videos have surfaced on social media, both purportedly capturing the aftermath of the earthquake in Taiwan. The first video depicts the shaking of a train, while the second shows a building collapsing.“BREAKING NEWS: Horrific #earthquake of 7.4 magnitude hit #Taiwan and #Japan. There is an alert that #Tsunami might hit them soon.” wrote an X user while sharing the video.
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is misleading, as both the videos are old and are unrelated to the recent earthquake in Taiwan.
Video 1
We conducted a reverse image search of the keyframes from the video depicting the shaking train. The results led to a report by NDTV dated September 18, 2022. This report featured an identical cover image and highlighted an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 striking the southeast coast of Taiwan.
The report also included an X post by NDTV journalist Umashankar Singh, dated September 18, 2022. In the post, Singh shared the viral video, stating in the caption that the footage depicts the shaking of a train in the aftermath of the earthquake in Taiwan.
Video 2
The reverse image search of the keyframes from the second video, depicting a building's collapse, led us to an extended version of the video published by Reuters on February 6, 2023, titled “Video shows building collapse after Turkey quake.”
According to the description, the heart-wrenching moment unfolded in Turkey’s Sanliurfa province after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country and neighbouring Syria. The death toll surged, surpassing 3,000 fatalities.
We also found the video published by CBS News on February 7, 2023, with the same information.
Hence, we conclude that the two videos do not show the visual of the recent earthquake in Taiwan. The claim is misleading.
