Fact-check: 3 viral videos aren’t from Turkey, Syria earthquake

A robust, 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey and neighboring Syria on Feb. 6, killing more than 2,300 people and injuring 1000’s extra because it toppled a whole lot of buildings and trapped residents below mounds of rubble.

Authorities feared the loss of life toll would rise additional as rescuers searched by means of tangles of steel and concrete for survivors in a area beset by more than a decade of Syria’s civil war and a refugee disaster.

Soon after news of the earthquake broke, footage showing to be from the devastation was shared on social media. VERIFY fact-checked whether or not these three viral videos present scenes from the Feb. 6 earthquake. 

This is a creating story, and photographs claiming to indicate scenes from the Feb. 6 earthquake is rapidly being posted to social media. If you see one thing you want to fact-checked, please e-mail [email protected] or textual content us at 202-410-8808.

Does this video present buildings collapsing after the earthquake in Turkey?

This video has been considered greater than one million instances on Twitter and exhibits a number of buildings in a residential space collapsing. 

The footage exhibits the condominium collapse in Surfside, Florida, in June 2021. 

Using InVid, a video forensics device, VERIFY analyzed the keyframes of the viral video and carried out a reverse picture search of the frames. 

VERIFY was in a position to hint the video to June 24, 2021, when a 12-story beachfront condominium in Surfside, Florida, collapsed. The video was taken from the safety digicam of an adjoining constructing. VERIFY accomplice station KHOU posted the unique video to its web site and YouTube channel.

The video from June 24, 2021, matches the 2023 viral video frame-by-frame, confirming not solely that the video was from Surfside but additionally that it was posted on-line greater than a 12 months earlier than the earthquake in Turkey. 

Does this video present a tsunami approaching the shore after the Feb. 6 earthquake?

The video exhibits an enormous wave hitting a shoreline. A tweet with greater than 580,000 views says: “#Tsunami and Earthquake in Turkey.” 

The video was posted on-line in 2017 and exhibits a mini-tsunami hitting a seaside in South Africa.

The video was taken from the South African coast on March 12, 2017, not in Turkey because the viral tweet advised. 

VERIFY was in a position to hint the footage utilizing video forensic instruments InVid and RevEye. 

Several videos had been posted to YouTube in March 2017 and present the identical beachfront promenade – the identical palm tree formation, the identical pool and the identical group of individuals working from the huge waves. 

After the Feb. 6 earthquake hit, Italy’s Civil Protection Department (CPD) issued a statement alerting individuals to remain away from coastlines in case a tsunami might be triggered. The division later rescinded the order. CPD stated there was no tsunami threat to the region through Feb. 7. 

The Turkey Regional Earthquake-Tsunami Monitoring Center screens earthquakes and tsunami warnings within the space. In the latest bulletin on the Feb. 6 earthquake, there was no point out of a tsunami being triggered. The Associated Press has additionally not reported or confirmed any tsunami exercise attributable to the earthquake. 

Does this video present towers collapsing in Syria after the Feb. 6 earthquake?

The tweet and video claims to indicate two towers collapsing in Syria after the earthquake. The tweet has greater than 75,000 views. 

This video exhibits the August 2022 demolition of two towers in India. The account was suspended from Twitter after repeatedly posting misinformation.

The video would not present towers collapsing in Syria, because the tweet claims, however as a substitute exhibits the deliberate demolition of the Supertech twin towers in Noida, India, in 2022. 

VERIFY was in a position to hint the footage utilizing video forensic instruments InVid and RevEye. 

According to the Times of India, the towers had been illegally constructed within the Emerald Court compound in Noida and had been ordered to be demolished on Aug. 28, 2022. Footage of the demolition was posted to YouTube on the time of demolition and matches what was seen within the viral tweet claiming to be from Syria. 

VERIFY regarded into the Twitter account that posted the footage – @EduMPunjab, with the show title Ministry of Education, Punjab. VERIFY discovered a variety of the explanation why the account was suspicious before it was suspended from Twitter. 

The account was new to Twitter and posted false footage in excessive frequency  – these are suspicious traits and are identified ways used to unfold misinformation. 

Tweets from the account had been posted a number of instances a minute and the footage posted didn’t present scenes from Turkey or Syria. For instance, this video was posted to the account greater than 20 instances in below 10 minutes. The tweet with the video stated a nuclear plant was on hearth.

But that video was really from 2018 and exhibits an explosion in Tianjin, China. 

Another video that was tweeted repeatedly by the @EduMPunjab account claimed to indicate a tsunami hitting the Turkey-Syria shoreline. But that video wasn’t after the Feb. 6 earthquake, both. It was taken in March 2011 and exhibits waves from the tsunami that hit Japan.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.