Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
Claim
A Hezbollah operative blew up while in the bathroom, amid a series of deadly explosions targeting the militant group’s communication devices over two days.
The archived version of the post can be seen here.
Fact
Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to an uncropped version of the photograph featured in a South China Morning Post news report, dated January 28, 2020, stating that an improvised explosive device was discovered in a rubbish bin at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point on Tuesday morning, just 12 hours after a Hong Kong public toilet was set ablaze by a suspected homemade bomb, making it the third such incident in the past 48 hours.
“A suspected improvised explosive device destroyed a public toilet at the King George V Memorial Park on Jordan Road in West Kowloon on January 27,” read the caption of the photo. Similar reports can be seen here and here, confirming that the viral photo is not linked to the deadly pager and walkie-talkie explosions across Lebanon in September 2024.
The homemade bomb appears to have been the work of anti-China protesters in a bid to get the border area with China completely sealed off, so as to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, according to this Korean news report, dated January 29, 2020.
Also Read: Old, Unrelated Visuals Falsely Linked To Recent Explosions In Lebanon
Result: False
Source
South China Morning Post report, January 28, 2020
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Authors
Kushel HM is a mechanical engineer-turned-journalist, who loves all things football, tennis and films. He was with the news desk at the Hindustan Times, Mumbai, before joining Newschecker.
Pankaj Menon is a fact-checker based out of Delhi who enjoys ‘digital sleuthing’ and calling out misinformation. He has completed his MA in International Relations from Madras University and has worked with organisations like NDTV, Times Now and Deccan Chronicle online in the past.
