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.
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
Video showing sea receding in Japan’s Okinawa after the recent earthquake in Taiwan.
Archived versions of such posts can be seen here and here.
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Fact
We looked up “Japan tsunami” on Google, and found that following the strong earthquake hit Taiwan on Wednesday, a tsunami warning was issued in Japan and was lifted later. Japan’s weather agency said several small tsunami waves reached parts of the southern prefecture of Okinawa, before downgrading its earlier tsunami warnings.
We continued our probe by conducting a keyword search for “woman,” “swept away,” and “beach” on YouTube led us to a video by Susan Duclos, dated January 22, 2014. It carried the viral footage, with a text overlay saying “Second beach of Sardinero Santander, January 6, 2014 (translated from Spanish via Google)” Notably, Sardinero is a beach in the Spanish city of Santander.
Taking a clue, we looked up keywords “woman,” “swept,” “Sardinero beach” and “Spain” on Google which yielded multiple reports from January 2014 detailing the incident. One such report by news.com.au featured the viral video, and stated, “Footage has emerged of a woman dancing on a Spanish beach before she was suddenly swept away by waves in a fierce storm.Caught off guard, the woman was filmed while wearing a black swimsuit on the Sardinero Beach, in Santander, Spain.”
A Daily Mail report, dated January 21, 2014, on the incident stated that the woman “was unable to outrun the water and was battered against the wall at Sardinero Beach, in Santander, before being swept away by the waves…”
The Independent stated, “Despite the apparent gravity of the footage, she had a lucky escape and emerged from the water with just bruises, it is understood.”
Hence, we could conclude that over 10-year-old video has been shared to falsely show water receding in Japan following a massive earthquake in Taiwan.
Result: False
Sources
YouTube Video By Susan Duclos, Dated January 22, 2014
Report By news.com.au, Dated January 21, 2014
Report By Daily Mail, Dated January 21, 2014
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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.
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.
