After a powerful earthquake struck the remote Tibetan region of China, killing at least 126 people, an old video of collapsing houses spread worldwide in social media posts falsely linking it to the disaster. The images were shot in Japan and circulated in news reports about an earthquake that struck the country on New Year’s Day 2024.
“WATCH | A video captured the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck part of China’s Tibet Autonomous Region on Tuesday,” said a Tagalog-language Facebook post sharing the video on January 8.
“So far, no fewer than 100 people have been killed by the powerful earthquake.”
The footage, which has been viewed more than 220,000 times, shows houses and power lines shaken by a violent quake, before several houses collapsed in a cloud of dust.
AFP previously fact-checked the Philippine broadcaster that shared the video for spreading misinformation about Huthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Screenshot of the fake Facebook post taken on January 10, 2025
The post surfaced after a morning quake on January 7, which killed at least 126 people and injured 188 others when it struck the rural, high-altitude province of Tingri, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Mount Everest near the Chinese border with Nepal (archived link).
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.
Tremors were also felt in the neighboring countries of Nepal and India, although there were no casualties.
Thai news channel Channel 8 published the video on its Facebook and TikTok accounts as part of its coverage of the deadly earthquake as it spread online around the world, including in English, Hindi, Spanish and Portuguese.
New Year’s tremor
A reverse image search on Google found the video published in a news story about an earthquake that struck Japan on January 1, 2024.
Japanese newspaper Chunichi Shimbun published the excerpt alongside the caption: “Dashcam footage at the time of the earthquake shows buildings collapsing and dust rising from the ground in Horyumachi, Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture (provided by social welfare organization Chojukai)” (archived link ).
Below is a screenshot comparison between the fake Facebook post (left) and the video shared by Chunichi Shimbun (right):
Screenshot comparison between the fake Facebook post (left) and the video shared by Chunichi Shimbun (right)
A keyword search found an article about the earthquake by the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, which contained the same images (archived link).
“Dashcam footage contains footage of the moment the Noto Peninsula earthquake struck Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 1. Houses were on the verge of collapse amid an intense tremor at 4:10 p.m.,” the report said.
AFP confirmed the video was shot in Suzu by comparing it with Google Street View footage from the area.
AFP has debunked a wave of misinformation about the Tibet earthquake here and here.
