The viral videos were not from the earthquake that hit Taiwan on 3April 2024. Both are old and unrelated.
A strong earthquake that hit Taiwan on 3 April measured magnitude 7.4, according to the United States Geological Survey, was the strongest to hit the island in about 25 years. It killed nine people and injured more than 900, while 50 workers travelling in minibuses to a hotel in a national park were missing. Amid this, two videos, which show a train shaking and a building collapsing, are going viral on social media, claiming to be from the recent earthquake in Taiwan.
Caption of the video states, “BREAKING NEWS: Horrific #earthquake of 7.4 magnitude hit #Taiwan and #Japan. There is an alert that #Tsunami might hit them soon”
Fact Check-
We conducted a reverse image search on Google with the key frames of the first video to find the original source. The results led us to an NDTV report dated 18 September 2022. The report states, an earthquake of a 6.9 magnitude hit the southeast coast of Taiwan. Following this, a tsunami warning was issued by Japan. The report carried the visuals of the train shaking due to the quake jolts.
The same viral video was uploaded on YouTube as well on 18 September 2022 with a caption, “A magnitude-6.9 earthquake jolted eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County on Sunday afternoon, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center”.
So we can confirm that an old video of an earthquake occurred in Taiwan shared linking to recent.
Next, we conducted a reverse image search for the second video and found the same video uploaded on the YouTube channel of Reuters on 6 February 2023. The description states, “A dramatic video shows a building collapse in Turkey’s Sanliurfa province after a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.8 struck central Turkey and northwest Syria.”
We found several media reports carrying the same incident. As per reports, “At least one seven storey building collapsed in the Haliliye district of Şanlıurfa province in Turkey during an aftershock of an enormous 7.8-magnitude earthquake”. The footage shows a high-rise building collapsing to the ground.
On 6 February 2023 a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria. The epicenter was 37 km (23 mi) west–northwest of Gaziantep. There was widespread damage and tens of thousands of fatalities.
Conclusion–
Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral video to be Misleading. Both videos are old and unrelated to the recent earthquake in Taiwan.
Title:Old and unrelated videos shared as recent visuals from Taiwan earthquake.
Written By: Usha ManojResult: Misleading
