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PeakMetrics / Fact Checks

Disasters & emergencies fact checks

Explore claims publishers have checked about disasters & emergencies. Read their original ratings and follow the evidence.

3,259 published reviews in this topic

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaDisasters & emergencies

ඉන්දුනීසියානු ගුවන් යානයක් කඩා වැටෙන අවස්ථාවක්ද?

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The claim asks whether the circulated footage shows an Indonesian aircraft crashing. Fact Crescendo examined a video shared with a caption saying that a plane was crashing and that viewers should pray for everyone’s safety. The review says the circulating video was edited from two different clips, rather than being one recording of an Indonesian crash: “මෙම සම්පූර්ණ වීඩියෝව වීඩියෝ කොටස් දෙකක් එකතු කොට නිර්මාණය කරන ලද්දක් බවට අපට නිරීක්ෂණය විය.” For the first clip, the review notes that the aircraft bore the name Garuda Indonesia and says it checked whether reports described a corresponding crash. It then used reverse-image search to trace the footage to a video made with the X-Plane 11 flight-simulation software, not to footage of a real crash. The review identifies the source as a Bopbibun YouTube video uploaded on May 2, 2020, and says that video disclosed that it was created and did not show real events: “මෙය ‘X-Plane 11’ නම් පියාසැරි අනුකරණ මෘදුකාංගයක් (සිමියුලේටර්) මඟින් නිර්මාණය කරන ලද වීඩියෝවක් බවයි.” The second clip does show a real aircraft incident, but the review identifies it as a separate event in Iran. It describes passengers and crew leaving a Caspian Airlines Boeing 737-400 after a landing problem at Isfahan International Airport on January 5, 2022. The review’s conclusion is that combining this real evacuation footage with simulated crash footage made the video misleadingly appear to document an Indonesian crash: “එහි පළමු කොටස පියාසැරි අනුකරණ මෘදුකාංගයක් (Flight Simulator) භාවිතා කරමින් නිර්මාණය කරන ලද වීඩියෝවක් වන අතර දෙවන කොටස ඉරානයේදී ගුවන් යානයක් ගුවන්තොටුපොළකට ගොඩ බැස්සීමට යාමේදී ඇති වූ දෝෂයක් මත මගීන් පිරිස හදිසි පිටත් වීම් මගින් ගුවන් යානයෙන් පිටත් වන අයුරු දැක්වෙන සත්‍ය වීඩියෝවකි.”

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaDisasters & emergencies

FACT CHECK: ඉන්දියාවේ ආරක්ෂක ප්‍රධානී ජෙනරාල් බිපින් රාවත් ගමන් ගත් යානය කඩා වැටෙන අයුරු?

Publisher’s rating: False

The review examines a video shared as showing the helicopter crash that killed India’s Chief of Defence Staff, General Bipin Rawat, and others in Tamil Nadu. It reports that the helicopter crashed near Coonoor and that Rawat died, then asks whether the circulating footage actually depicts that event. The review says it found no international-media reporting identifying the shared clip as footage of the crash: “සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ සංසරණය වී තිබූ ඉහත වීඩියෝව මෙම සිදුවීමට අදාළ ගුවන් අනතුරේ දර්ශන බවට කිසිදු ජාත්‍යන්තර මාධ්‍යක වාර්තා කර නොතිබුණු බවට අපට නිරීක්ෂණය වුණා.” To investigate the clip’s origin, the publisher says it used reverse-image search. It traced the same video to a Telegraph YouTube post dated February 11, 2020, which described footage of rebels shooting down a Syrian Air Force helicopter near Nayrab in Idlib, Syria: “මෙම වීඩියෝව පසුගිය වර්ෂයේ (2020) පෙබරවාරි 11 වන දා The Telegraph යූ ටියුබ් නාලිකාව මගින් පෙන්වා දී තිබුණේ, සිරියාවේ ඉඩ්ල්බ් හි නයිරාබ් ප්‍රදේශයේදී කැරලිකරුවන් විසින් සිරියානු ගුවන් හමුදාවේ හෙලිකොප්ටරයක් බිම හෙලන ආකාරය යනුවෙනි.” The distinction is central: the review identifies the viral clip as older footage from Syria, not footage of Rawat’s helicopter in India. Its conclusion states that the video circulated as showing the crash near Coonoor instead depicts a Syrian military helicopter being shot down in 2020: “අපගේ විමර්ශනයෙන් පෙන්වා දිය හැක්කේ, ඉන්දියාවේ ආරක්ෂක ප්‍රධානී ජෙනරාල් බිපින් රාවත් ඇතුළු 14 දෙනකු ගමන් කරමින් තිබූ හෙලිකොප්ටර් යානය තමිල්නාඩු ප්‍රාන්තයේ කූනූර් නගරය ආසන්නයේ දී කඩා වැටෙන අයුරු යනුවෙන් සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ඔස්සේ සංසරණය වී තිබුණේ, 2020 වර්ෂයේ සිරියාවේ ඉඩ්ල්බ් හි නයිරාබ් ප්‍රදේශයේදී කැරලිකරුවන් විසින් සිරියානු ගුවන් හමුදාවේ හෙලිකොප්ටරයක් බිම හෙලන අයුරු දැක්වෙන දර්ශනයි.”

dpaDisasters & emergencies

En Italie, l’entrepôt militaire dans lequel les vaccins contre le Covid-19 étaient stockés a pris feu comme par magie après l'approbation de la vaccination obligatoire pour les forces de sécurité.

Publisher’s rating: À l’heure actuelle, on ne connaît toujours pas la cause de l’incendie qui s’est déclaré le 15 décembre 2021 dans la caserne Salvo D'Acquisto, à Rome. Toutefois, l’incendie a eu lieu dans les dortoirs de la caserne, et non dans un « entrepôt militaire » où auraient été stockés des vaccins contre le Covid-19. Il n’y avait pas de vaccins entreposés dans cette caserne, a déclaré un porte-parole à la dpa.

The claim links the 15 December 2021 fire at Rome’s Salvo D'Acquisto barracks to an alleged military vaccine warehouse and to Italy’s new vaccination requirement for security forces. The review identifies the barracks as a Carabinieri training and recruitment centre, and says the fire occurred on the same day the requirement took effect for police, the military and emergency services. That timing does not establish that the fire was deliberate or connected to vaccination policy. [S1: “En Italie, la vaccination contre le Covid-19 est obligatoire depuis le 15 décembre 2021 pour la police, l'armée et les services d'urgence”] [S1: “Le même jour, un bâtiment de la caserne Salvo D'Acquisto, située à Viale Tor di Quinto à Rome, a pris feu. Cette caserne est un centre d'entraînement et de recrutement pour la police militaire”] The review distinguishes the building that burned from the claimed warehouse: it says the fire was in the recruits’ living quarters, specifically the dormitories of the 8th “Lazio” regiment. It reports that the dpa asked a Carabinieri spokesperson, who confirmed the location and said there was no connection to a Covid-19 vaccine warehouse and no vaccine storage at the barracks at that time. [S1: “À la demande de l'agence de presse allemande dpa, un porte-parole des Carabinieri a confirmé que l’incendie est intervenu dans les dortoirs du 8ème régiment « Lazio ».”] [S1: “Selon lui, il n’existe aucune corrélation entre l’incident et un quelconque entrepôt de vaccins contre le Covid-19. Actuellement, il n’y a pas non plus d’entrepôt stockant des vaccins au sein de cette caserne”] The review notes a relevant piece of context that could make the warehouse claim seem plausible: Italy’s first vaccine deliveries had passed through the barracks in December 2020. But it says reporting on the fire placed it in the recruits’ accommodation, not a warehouse. It also reports that the cause had not been established; some Italian media suggested a short circuit, while an intentional crime was then excluded. Thus, the reported evidence contradicts the claim’s description of the site and does not establish a deliberate fire. [S1: “Il est vrai que les premiers vaccins à destination de l'Italie, livrés à Rome en décembre 2020, ont transité par cette caserne.”] [S1: “D'autres médias italiens rapportent que l’incendie a peut-être été déclenché par un court-circuit, bien que la cause ne soit pas encore certaine. Un acte criminel est, pour le moment, exclu.”]

dpaDisasters & emergencies

In Italië is het magazijn waar vaccins werden bewaard in brand gestoken.

Publisher’s rating: Het is nog onduidelijk wat de brand in de kazerne Salvo D'Acquisto bij Rome veroorzaakt heeft. De brand brak uit in de slaapzalen van de carabinieri, niet in een magazijn voor vaccins. Zo'n magazijn is trouwens niet aanwezig in de kazerne.

The review says the fire broke out in the dormitories of the eighth Carabinieri Regiment “Lazio,” not in a vaccine store. It reports that the Carabinieri spokesperson confirmed the location and said there was no vaccine warehouse on the barracks grounds at the time. The review also notes that the barracks had previously been used to store Rome’s first vaccine deliveries, a detail that may help explain why the warehouse story circulated, but which does not establish that vaccines were stored there when the fire occurred. The review describes the fire’s cause as unresolved. It says most news outlets suspected an electrical short circuit, while reporting that deliberate arson had been ruled out; it does not present a confirmed cause. One soldier was injured after jumping from a window to escape the flames. These details support the distinction between a fire in the barracks’ living quarters and the claim that a vaccine warehouse was burned, without establishing a definitive cause for the fire.

FACTLYDisasters & emergencies

Video of a crude oil tanker explosion in Dubai

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The review examines a social-media video presented as showing a recent crude-oil-tanker explosion in Dubai. It reports that the video is not footage of one Dubai event: it combines clips from three separate, older fires. The review concludes that the assembled video has nothing to do with Dubai. Its account identifies the three locations as Italy, Cairo in Egypt, and Ajman in the UAE. (S1: “The video shared in the post is made from video clips related to three different old fire accidents.”; “This video has nothing to do with Dubai.”) For the first segment, the review says it spotted a USA TODAY watermark and found similar footage published by USA TODAY on 07 August 2018, describing a fuel-tanker explosion on a highway in Italy. For the second, it says reverse-image searches found similar footage reported by news channels in July 2020 as a fire caused by a crude-oil pipeline leak in Cairo. (S1: “we could see the ‘USA TODAY’ watermark on the top right side of the video”; “a video with similar visuals was found published on the ‘USA TODAY’ news website on 07 August 2018”; “All these news channels reported it as the visuals of a massive fire that broke out because of a crude oil pipeline leakage in Cairo, Egypt.”) The final segment is attributed to a fire at a market in Ajman, not Dubai. The review describes comparing a shop sign visible in the video with images of the shop in Ajman, and finding a similar fire photo in a Tasnim News Agency article dated 06 August 2020. Together, the three segment identifications contradict the video’s presentation as footage of a recent tanker explosion in Dubai. (S1: “This YouTube user mentioned it as the visuals of a massive fire accident that took place inside a market in Ajman, UAE.”; “is confirmed that the incident had taken place in the Emirate of Ajman.”)

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaDisasters & emergencies

FACT CHECK: ගෑස් ආශ්‍රිත අනතුරින් සිව්දරු මවක් ජීවතක්ෂයට පත් වූ අවස්ථාවේ CCTV දර්ශනද?

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The review examines a social-media video presented in a way that suggested it showed the fatal gas-related incident involving a mother of four in Sri Lanka. It reports that the woman, aged 53, was from Nattarampota in Kundasale, Kandy, was hospitalized with burns after a gas leak at her home on December 1, and died on the 12th. The review says the video’s circulation alongside reports of that death implied a connection to the Sri Lankan incident. (The review states: “දෙසැම්බර් 01 වන දා නිවසෙහි වූ ගෑස් කාන්දු වීම හේතුවෙන් පිළිස්සුම් තුවාල ලබා රෝහල් ගත කෙරුණු මහනුවර, කුණ්ඩසාල, නත්තරම්පොත ප්‍රදේශයේදී 53 හැවිරිදි සිව්දරු මවක් පසුගිය 12 වන දා ජීවිතක්ෂයට පත් වුණා.”)