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
Earthquake strikes a hospital in Japan, causing nurses to panic.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Major Quake In Japan
Tsunami waves over a metre high reportedly hit central Japan on January 1, 2024, after a
a 7.5-magnitude earthquake that damaged homes, set off a major fire and prompted authorities to urge people to run to higher ground.
Fact
Newschecker noticed that the dateline in the viral video read, “Gaziantep, Turkiye”, indicating that the video is not of the recent quake in Japan.
Newschecker ran a reverse image search, which led us to this Instagram video, dated February 14, 2023, stating, “Seyma Alakus, a nurse at Inayet Topcuoglu Hospital in Gaziantep province, ran to save as many children as possible as soon as the earthquake was felt in the building. Gaziantep is one of the cities severely affected by two powerful earthquakes in southern Turkey. The death toll has reached over 31,000 with around 90,000 injured people.”
Similar news reports can be seen here and here, reiterating that Alakus ran to save as many children as possible as soon as the earthquake was felt in Inayet Topcuoglu Hospital in Gaziantep province, Turkey, in February 2023.
Result: False
Sources
Youtube video, TRT World, February 13, 2023
Youtube video, The Times and The Sunday Times, February 13, 2023
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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.
