Importance Score: 65 / 100 🔴
False Social Media Posts Misrepresent Gaza Destruction as Myanmar Earthquake Aftermath
Social media users falsely linked images of devastation in Gaza to a powerful earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28. These misleading posts claimed the photos depicted the destruction caused by the Myanmar tremors. However, fact-checking reveals the images are actually from the Gaza Strip, taken in early 2025 after Israeli forces withdrew following a ceasefire agreement.
Misleading Facebook Post Spreads False Claim
One Facebook post, shared on March 29, falsely asserted in its simplified Chinese caption: “A 7.9-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, devastation everywhere, everything in ruins.”
The deceptive post, which has since been removed from the platform, included four photographs showing severely damaged buildings and widespread rubble, furthering the false narrative of earthquake devastation in Myanmar.
Old Gaza Footage Misrepresented as Recent Earthquake Damage
This online misinformation emerged a day after a significant 7.7-magnitude earthquake impacted the region near Mandalay, a central city in Myanmar. This major seismic event was followed by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock minutes later.
Geologists reported this earthquake as the most substantial seismic activity to affect Myanmar in recent decades, tragically resulting in over 3,600 fatalities.
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The same set of fabricated images, falsely attributed to the Myanmar earthquake, proliferated across other social media platforms including TikTok, Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), and YouTube, amplifying the misinformation.
Reverse Image Search Uncovers Gaza Origin
Contrary to the false claims, a reverse image search of the initial photograph within the misleading post traced back to a TikTok video. This original video, posted on February 20 by a Gaza-based user, showcased the very same demolished structure, revealing the image’s true origin.
News Agency Confirms Gaza Location
Further corroborating the Gaza origin, a photograph from the Turkish Anadolu news agency depicted the identical scene of destruction.
The caption accompanying the Anadolu Agency image clarified: “A view of the destruction in Jabalia camp after Israeli forces withdrew from the area following the ceasefire in Gaza on February 05, 2025,” definitively placing the images in Gaza and not Myanmar.
Ceasefire Context and Conflict
A temporary ceasefire in January had previously halted over fifteen months of conflict that began with an unprecedented attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
However, Israel recommenced military actions in the Palestinian territory in March after the collapse of this two-month ceasefire due to disagreements regarding subsequent phases of the agreement.
AFP Fact-Checks Myanmar Earthquake Misinformation
AFP (Agence France-Presse) has actively worked to debunk various instances of misinformation related to the Myanmar earthquake.