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.
Claim
Visuals show huge cracks on the road after the recent earthquake in Indonesia.
Archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact
We spotted Telephragh’s watermark on the bottom right side of the frames in the viral video. Taking a clue, we looked up keywords “Earth,” & “cracks” in the search section of the official YouTube channel of The Telegraph. This led us to a video dated April 25, 2015, titled, ‘Nepal earthquake: huge cracks appear in road.’
It carried a longer version of the viral clip which is being linked to the recent earthquake in Indonesia. The description of the YouTube video read, “Footage shows large cracks opening up in a Kathmandu road, caused by a powerful earthquake that left at least 1,130 dead, according to local police”.
Following this, we conducted a keyword search for “Kathmandu,” “road cracks,” “Nepal earthquake,” & “2015” on Google which yielded a report by The Guardian, dated April 26, 2015. Displaying a longer version of the viral footage, it stated, “Amateur video shows large cracks down the middle of a road in Nepal after a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit the region on Saturday. The death toll from the quake rose to above 1,900 on Sunday as officials struggled to gauge the full scale of the disaster and the world rushed to provide desperately needed aid.”
Multiple other news outlets had shared the viral clip while reporting on an earthquake that rattled Nepal in 2015. Such reports can be seen here, here and here.
Viral video claiming to show a road cracked open after the recent earthquake in Indonesia is actually from the aftermath of a 2015 temblor in Nepal.
Result: False
Sources
YouTube Video By The Telegraph, Dated April 25, 2015
Report By The Guardian, Dated April 26, 2015
If you liked this and want to read more such fact checks then click here.
If you would like us to fact-check a claim, give feedback, or lodge a complaint, WhatsApp us at 9999499044 or email us at checkthis@newschecker.in. You can also visit the Contact Us page and fill out the form.
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.
