Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
Turkiye (Turkey) is grappling with the aftermath of devastating earthquakes and aftershocks that jolted the country earlier this month. While rescue and relief operations are underway in the country, social media users across the world have been sharing unverified visuals to highlight the plight of Turkiye, and its citizens.
Also Read: Viral Video From 2017 Durban Passed off As Tsunami After Turkiye Earthquake
Now, an aerial footage showing enormous fractures and cracks on Earth’s surface has gone viral on social media platforms. Those who shared the video claimed that fissures have been observed on the earth’s surface after the recent earthquakes in Turkiye. Newschecker found the video to be unrelated to Turkiye.
The footage is doing the rounds on Twitter.
Archived versions of such tweets can be seen here, here , here, here and here.
Several Facebook and Instagram users also shared the footage claiming to show fissures on Earth’s surface after the recent earthquakes in Turkiye.
Links to such posts can be seen here, here, here and here.
Fact Check/Verification
On scanning through the comment sections of social media posts carrying the viral video, we noticed several users pointing out that the footage is actually from Pinglu County in China, and not Turkiye.
Taking a clue, we looked up “Pinglu County in China, “crack” & “earth surface” in Chinese on Google, which led us to a report by World Journal, dated February 20, 2023. It featured a tweet carrying the viral footage, and stated that the Twitter users have posted a topographic video showing cracks on the earth surface, which was later proved to be a large ravine in Pinglu County, Shanxi Province, China. The video does not show visuals from Hatay province of Turkiye.(translated from Chinese using Google Translate)
The search also yielded a YouTube video by @user-nt9po2jt2r, dated November 4, 2022. Carrying snippets from the viral video, it stated (translated from Chinese), “The Great Ravine in Pinglu County, a chasm about 10 kilometres long, is drawn on the entire plain…”
A slightly shorter version of the video was also uploaded on YouTube channel @YuYuanXing on November 19, 2022 to show the visuals from Pinglu County in Yuncheng, Shanxi Province.
Following this, we looked up Pinglu County, China on Google Earth View. On analysing the same, we found that the geographical features seen in the footage match the landscape of areas around Pinglu county.
This led us to conclude that the viral footage is neither recent nor from Turkiye. The video can be traced back to at least November 2022, and shows visuals from China’s Pinglu County.
Did Recent Turkiye Earthquakes Cause Cracks On Earth’s Surface?
Yes. Multiple news outlets shared aerial footage showing surface ruptures and cracks formed in Turkiye following the devastating earthquakes that jolted the country recently. Such reports can be seen here, here and here.
Conclusion
We could thus conclude that the viral footage claiming to show an aerial view of enormous fractures on Earth’s surface following the recent earthquakes in Turkiye is false. The video actually shows visuals from China, and is being shared in a false context.
Result: False
Sources
Report By World Journal, Dated February 20, 2023
YouTube Video By @user-nt9po2jt2r, Dated November 4, 2022
Self Analysis
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Authors
Vasudha noticed the growing problem of mis/disinformation online after studying New Media at ACJ in Chennai and became interested in separating facts from fiction. She is interested in learning how global issues affect individuals on a micro level. Before joining Newschecker’s English team, she was working with Latestly.
