Recently, Taiwan witnessed the biggest earthquake in at least 25 years that caused massive destruction and prompted tsunami warnings for Japan and the Philippines. Not only this, but the recent earthquake claimed the lives of nine people and left more than one thousand injured. Amid this, misinformation concerning the recent earthquake is rife on social media platforms such as X(Twitter).

Misinformation 1

Claim: A video showing leaning building in a city has been associated the recent earthquake stating that the amount of people injured by the earthquake in Taiwan has reached 711- My deepest condolences.

Fact-Check

The DFRAC team investigated the above video by converting it into some Keyframes. We reverse-searched these keyframes on google and found a media report by the Guardian dated Feb 7, 2018 on YouTube. As per media report, Yun Men Tsui Ti block of flats near Taiwan’s east coast has been left leaning at a dangerous angle after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday night . At least four people were killed and more than 170 remain unaccounted for in the area.

Analysis: Misleading

Misinformation 2

Claim: Another video depicting river water swaying back and forth has been shared by the several users on X on April 3 when the earthquake with 7.4 magnitude has struck Taiwan. By sharing this video, users claimed that its potential impact of the latest earthquake.

Fact-Check

For the investigation process, our team conducted a reverse-image search of the Keyframes obtained after converting the viral video. During this process, we found that the viral video is from Noto earthquake witnessed by Japan on Jan 1, 2024.

In addition, according a Yahoo’s media report published on Jan 3, 2024, the power of the earthquake that struck Japan’s Noto peninsula on New Year’s Day was remarkably demonstrated a short distance to the south, in Tonami, where a woman recorded canal water sloshing from side to side in its channel.

Analysis: Misleading

Misinformation 3

Claim: A video alleging that a building swaying due to tremors of recent earthquake in Taiwan has been shared by many users on X(Twitter) including IP Singh.

Fact-Check

In DFRAC’s probe, our team found this video uploaded on an Instagram account captioning in Chinese that the video is fake.

Upon investigating further, we discovered media reports of AP and ABS-CBS News’s coverage on the latest Taiwan Earthquake. As per media reports, earthquake tremors can be seen, but the Taipei 101 building cannot be seen swaying. However, we did not get any media report about the Taipei-101 building swaying due to the recent earthquake.

Analysis: Fake

Misinformation 4

Claim: A video showing the collapse of multiple buildings has recently surfaced on X(Twitter). Users have fiercely shared this video and claimed that Multiple buildings have collapsed after a Pair of Massive 7.5 Earthquakes Strikes Triggering Tsunami Warnings.

Fact-Check

To verify the authenticity of the above viral video, the DFRAC team converted it into some keyframes and reverse-searched them on google. We discovered that the video is not from the latest earthquake but from China. A media report by USA Today confirmed that it depicts the controlled demolition of 15 unfinished buildings that stood next to each other for seven years. Moreover, the report was published in the year 2021.

Analysis: Misleading

Misinformation 5

Claim: A video depicting some train carriages derailed has been recently shared by numerous users on X(Twitter) and claiming it to be horrible scenes from the Taiwan Earthquake.

Fact-Check

Using the Keyframes that were generated by converting the above video, the DFRAC team conducted a reverse-image search and discovered a media report by CGTN(China Global Televison Network) dated September, 18, 2022. The media report stated: “A magnitude-6.9 earthquake jolted eastern Taiwan’s Hualien County on Sunday afternoon, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC). It derailed train carriages, caused property damage and sparked tsunami warnings”.

Analysis: Misleading

Conclusion

Social media plays a crucial role during crises. The recent fact-checks conducted by our team underscore the need for cautiousness and watchfulness over false news and misinformation regarding the current disastrous events.