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Image of monks clearing rubble taken after the 2010 earthquake in China, not the recent tremor in Tibet

As rescuers waded through rubble in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in China’s remote Tibet region in January 2025, a photo of Tibetan Buddhist monks clearing rubble circulated in reports falsely linked to the disaster. An AFP photographer took the photo after an earthquake struck Yushu, China district in April 2010.

The image appeared in a now-deleted post from January 8, 2025 on Douyinthe Chinese version of TikTok. The simplified Chinese caption read: “When disaster strikes, I wish only peace for all beings #Shigatse #Peace.”

The post surfaced a day after Tibet’s rural, high-altitude province of Tingri was hit by a powerful earthquake that killed at least 126 people and injured 188 others. According to the Tibetan Emergency Management Department (archived here), more than 3,600 houses collapsed as a result of the earthquake.

Tingri is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shigatse, home to the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama, one of the most important spiritual figures in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama.

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The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) measured the magnitude of the earthquake as 6.8, while the US Geological Survey reported it as 7.1.

<span>Screenshot of the fake Facebook post captured on January 10, 2025</span>” loading=”lazy” width=”909″ height=”820″ decoding=”async” data-nimg=”1″ class=”rounded-lg” style=”color:transparent” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/njRNYJgdBdiJNNCYjo_xjg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MD toPTg2Ng–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/85e3265755ffe03493782e84138bf32c”/><button aria-label=

Screenshot of the fake Facebook post captured on January 10, 2025

The Taiwanese website TNews included the photo in an article about the quake. Similar posts in English, Nepali and Tibetan shared the same image.

However, an AFP photographer had been taking the photo for more than a decade past.

A reverse image search, followed by keyword searches on Google, turned up a full version of the photo published by American broadcaster NBC News on April 14, 2010 (archived here).

“Tibetan Buddhist monks clear debris while searching for survivors amid a collapsed apartment building in Jiegu, China, on Friday,” reads the caption on the photo, credited to AFP photographer Frederic J. Brown.

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<span>Screenshot comparison of the photo in the fake report (L) and the photo in the NBC News report</span>” loading=”lazy” width=”960″ height=”502″ decoding=”async” data-nimg=”1″ class=”rounded-lg” style=”color:transparent” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/wolSn6C96Wt.jQPIosR9qQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MD toPTUwMg–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/77954f46b5a851e819299a935787d35e”/><button aria-label=

Screenshot comparison of the photo in the fake post (L) and the photo in the NBC News report

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the Yushu region of northwestern Qinghai province, a predominantly Tibetan-inhabited region, on April 14, 2010. flattened thousands of homes and nearly 2,700 dead and about 270 missing, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported at the time (archived link).

“Tibetan Buddhist monks clear debris while searching for survivors amid a collapsed apartment building in Jiegu, Yushu County on April 16, 2010,” reads the caption on the AFP website. photo.

<span>Tibetan Buddhist monks clear debris while searching for survivors amid a collapsed apartment building in Jiegu, Yushu County on April 16, 2010</span></p>
<div><span>FREDERIC J. BROWN</span><span>AFP< /span></div>
<p>” loading=”lazy” width=”960″ height=”639″ decoding=”async” data-nimg=”1″ class=”rounded-lg” style=”color:transparent” src=”https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/shcWzYcbJlWGtCYkfTNPDA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MD toPTYzOQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/afp_factcheck_us_713/99fa1d402cd03304070e4406c8e16f43″/><button aria-label=
Tibetan Buddhist monks clear debris while searching for survivors amid a collapsed apartment building in Jiegu, Yushu County on April 16, 2010

FREDERIC J. BROWNAFP

FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP

AFP has debunked disinformation about the Tibet earthquake here and here.

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