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 gymnasium ceiling caves in following the recent earthquake in the Philippines.
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Series of earthquakes strikes Philippines
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake reportedly struck off the coast of the southern Philippines early on Monday, the latest in a slew of strong quakes all concentrated in the same area. The latest quake followed a magnitude 6.6 earthquake on Sunday and a deadly magnitude 7.6 quake on Saturday in the same region, which had briefly triggered a tsunami alert.
Also Read: Video Of Palestinian Family Mourning Death Of 5-month-old Baby Shared With False Claim
Fact
Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this Youtube video, dated September 18, 2022, headlined, “Gymnasium ceiling collapsed at 2:44pm 7.2 magnitude earthquake hits Taiwan.”
A relevant keyword search led us to this NBC news report sharing the same video, headlined, “Earthquake ceiling collapse scatters athletes at Taiwan sports club”, and dated September 18, 2022, stating, “Badminton players at a fifth-floor sports centre in Taoyuan ran for their lives as the ceiling caved in during a powerful earthquake. Elsewhere in the country, first responders worked to rescue people trapped under the rubble.” A similar news report can be seen here, confirming that the viral video was taken during the 6.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan in September 2022.
Claim 2
Water spills out of a shaking bathtub in a high-rise building amid the Philippines earthquake
The archived version of the tweet can be seen here.
Fact
Newschecker ran a reverse image search of keyframes of the video, which led us to this Youtube video, dated February 15, 2021, headlined, “Water Spills Out of Bathtub as it Shakes Rigorously During Earthquake in Japan.” The same video featured in The Weather Channel, dated February 23, 2021. A similar post can be seen here, confirming that the video is not related to the recent earthquakes that struck the Philippines.
Result: False
Sources
NBC news report, September 18, 2022
The Weather Channel report, February 23, 2021
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. Follow our WhatsApp channel for more updates.
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.
