Fake News: China Footage Shared as Kerala Disaster

Torrential rains triggered massive landslides in the hilly areas of the Wayanad district in Kerala killing more than 150 people. Dozens are still feared trapped. In its aftermath, a video of different stages of a house getting submerged by floodwaters was widely shared. Allegedly, this video was from Wayanad.

A social media user shared the clip with the caption, “Terrific footage in #wayanad, Kerala. #WayanadLandslide #WayanadDisaster.”

This video shows a flood in Meizhou, China, in June this year.

Our Factcheck Revealed

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led us to the same clip uploaded to a YouTube channel named “Disaster Update” on June 25, 2024. The caption reads, “16 June 2024 – Meizhou, Guangdong, China – Timelapse of severe flooding.”

Per the description of this video, Meizhou, located in the Guangdong province of China, experienced subtropical monsoons with significant rainfall during the summer months. On June 16, 2024, Meizhou saw severe flooding due to heavy rains.

A subsequent search with keywords led us to Chinese news reports featuring several screenshots from the viral video. These reports noted that water was released from the Huangtian Reservoir in the Meizhou area of Guangdong Province at noon on June 16. As a result, the village of Huangtian drowned in a flood within a few hours with water levels rising to two metres.

Another report quoted Chinese government officials stating that at least 38 people died and two went missing due to the heavy rain and flood in the southern China area. Reuters in its report dated June 21, also mentioned that 38 people lost their lives.

It is, thus, clear that the video is not from Wayanad, Kerala, but from a village in Meizhou, China.

For All Social Media Buffs:

Disinformation is false information that someone or a group spreads online while knowing it’s false. Generally, they do this for a specific intention, usually for the purpose of influencing others to believe their point of view.

Examples of disinformation include:

Outdated Information: Sharing facts that were once true but have since changed.

Rumors: Spreading unverified stories or claims.

Mistaken Identity: Incorrectly attributing an event or statement to the wrong person.