After a powerful earthquake struck China’s remote Tibet region, killing at least 126 people, an old video of houses collapsing spread globally in social media posts that falsely linked it to the disaster. The footage was in fact shot in Japan and circulated in news reports about an earthquake that hit the country on New Year’s Day 2024.
“WATCH | A video captured the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck part of the Tibet Autonomous Region in China this Tuesday,” read a Tagalog-language Facebook post that shared the video on January 8.
“So far, no less than 100 people have been reported dead from the powerful quake.”
The footage, which racked up more than 220,000 views, shows houses and power lines shaken by a violent tremor, before several homes collapse into a cloud of dust.
AFP has previously fact-checked the Philippine broadcaster that shared the video for spreading misinformation around Huthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Screenshot of the false Facebook post, taken January 10, 2025
The post surfaced after a morning quake on January 7 killed at least 126 people and injured 188 others when it struck rural, high-altitude Tingri county, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Mount Everest near China’s border with Nepal (archived link).
The China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) measured the quake’s magnitude as 6.8, while the US Geological Survey reported it as 7.1.
Tremors were also felt in neighbouring Nepal and India, though no casualties were reported.
Thai news channel Channel 8 published the video on its Facebook and TikTok accounts as part of its coverage of the deadly quake, while it spread online around the world, including in English, Hindi, Spanish and Portuguese.
New Year tremor
A reverse image search of the video on Google found it published in a news report about an earthquake that struck Japan on January 1, 2024.
Japanese newspaper Chunichi Shimbun published the clip alongside the caption: “Dashcam footage at the time of the quake showing buildings collapsing and dust rising from the ground in Horyumachi, Suzu City, Ishikawa Prefecture (provided by the social welfare organisation Chojukai)” (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison between the false Facebook post (left) and the video shared by Chunichi Shimbun (right):
Screenshot comparison between the false Facebook post (left) and the video shared by Chunichi Shimbun (right)
A keyword search found an article about the quake by Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper that included the same footage (archived link).
“Dashcam footage captured images from when the Noto Peninsula Earthquake struck Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 1. Houses on the verge of collapse amid an intense tremor at 4:10 p.m,” it said.
AFP confirmed the video was filmed in Suzu by comparing it to Google Street View imagery from the area.
AFP has debunked a wave of misinformation around the Tibet earthquake here and here.
