Fact Check: Viral video of drowning car is not due to Cyclone Biparjoy
The video dates to May 2023 and is reportedly from Masaya in Nicaragua.
By Md Mahfooz Alam Published on 17 Jun 2023 9:41 AM GMT
Screengrab of the post tweeted by the handle @PMN2463
Hyderabad: A video showing a car being washed away from a road by a strong flood is going viral on social media. A Twitter user shared the video claiming that it shows the intensity of Cyclone Biparjoy in Dandeli, Karnataka.
(Source: Twitter/@PMN2463)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the video dates to May 2023 and is reportedly from Masaya in Nicaragua. On performing a reverse image search of the video’s keyframe, we found it published by a YouTube channel Nicaragua Actual on May 29. As per the caption, the video is from Nindirí, Masaya.
Taking a cue from this, we ran a keyword search and found a report from May 30 by a Spanish media outlet El Heraldo, which carried the still from the video. According to the report, Alberto Uriel Romero Martínezw was in the car and he died while attempting to cross the flooded road. It also mentioned that the incident occurred on May 29 in the Veracruz sector, Nindirí municipality, neighbouring the capital Managua, in Nicaragua.
Other media outlets such as Articulo66, Vidafmnicaragua, and 100 Noticias also reported that the video is from Nicaragua, Masaya.
Hence, we conclude that the claim that the viral video of a car being washed away during Cyclone Biparjoy in Karnataka is false.
