Authors
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
“Footage of big explosions from #Beijing during the China coup against Xi Jinping. China is in turmoil! Xi Jinping is missing! Is this a coup? Has he been assassinated and I uncover a military mystery no one is talking about”
Several social media users shared the claim on Twitter.
Link of the same can be found here.
Fact check/ Verification
Newschecker began by looking up the keywords ‘china coup explosion’ on Google and found no related matches.
We further split the video into keyframes and conducted a reverse image search of the same on Yandex which led us to a Facebook post by People’s Daily, China on 2015.
“Tianjin Explosion Caused by Combustible and Explosive Goods in Container,” the title of the video read. “Around late night 23:30 on Wednesday in Binhai New Area in Tianjin, East China’s port city, a container terminal at crossing of Fifth Street and Yuejin Road witnessed an explosion, according to Tianjin fire department. The cause was the combustible and explosive goods in the container. In the video huge mushroom cloud and fire can be seen far off. It is reported that quakes can be felt 10 kilometers away. The injured are now rushed to the nearby hospital. Casualties yet remain unknown,” reads the caption.
On looking up the video further, Newschecker found more reports on the Tianjing explosion by major news outlets including The Guardian and the BBC. We also found the same video published on the official YouTube channel of the same video.
Earlier in February, Newschecker had earlier debunked another video from the same incident that was being shared as a video from Ukraine. You can read that fact check here.
Result: False
Our Sources
Facebook post by People’s Daily China, August 12, 2015
Video posted on BBC YouTube, August 14, 2015
Report on The Guardian, August 15, 2015
Report on the BBC, November 9, 2016
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Authors
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.
