Skip to main content

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

日本ファクトチェックセンターDisasters & emergencies

関東大震災、朝鮮人が毒を入れようとしたのはデマではなく事実

Publisher’s rating: 誤り

The review reports that post-earthquake records found no evidence of organized crimes or poisonings by Koreans, and that the cited contemporary newspaper stories relied on incorrect information. It notes that the judicial records described the alleged assault cases as having unidentified suspects. [S1: “朝鮮人による暴動や略奪、毒の散布などの事実はなく、司法省発表の朝鮮人による殺傷事件についてはすべて「被疑者不詳」だった。”] [S1: “これらの新聞記事自体が、誤った情報に基づいて報道された誤報だった。”]

PA MediaDisasters & emergencies

A laser beam started the Hawaii fires.

Publisher’s rating: Evaluation: False. There is no evidence supporting these claims. The image claiming to show a laser beam striking a Maui hilltop is actually from a 2018 SpaceX launch in California, while the video claiming to show a laser-triggered explosion in Maui is a mirrored copy of footage that went viral on TikTok in May 2023.

FACTLYDisasters & emergencies

This video compilation shows the Mexico earthquake that occurred on 1 September 2023

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a compilation circulating on social media as footage of an earthquake in Mexico on 1 September 2023. FACTLY’s investigation identifies the clips instead as footage of the 2017 Mexico earthquake. The article reports that a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Mexico in September 2017 and killed almost 220 people, and says the viral compilation’s visuals were from that event. To investigate the video, FACTLY says it broke the compilation into keyframes and ran reverse image searches. The searches connected the visuals to material from 2017 and to compilation clips on a YouTube channel named “Earthquakes.” FACTLY reports that this compilation had been uploaded in April 2023, before the event date alleged in the social-media claim. The review also describes specific footage: the opening clip shows people rushing out of a shaky “NH collection-Mexico City Airport T2” hotel building, which FACTLY says was filmed during the 2017 earthquake. It further reports that a Google search found no severe earthquake recorded in Mexico on 1 September 2023. Taken together, the review’s video comparisons and chronology indicate that old footage was recirculated with a misleading 2023 event description.

Fact Crescendo Sri LankaDisasters & emergencies

මෑතකදී ඇති වූ ගංවතුර තත්ත්වයක් පෙන්නුම් කරන වීඩියෝවක් ද?

Publisher’s rating: Misleading

The video was shared as showing flooding caused by recent heavy rain in the Rambukkana area, amid discussion of rain during the Kandy Esala Perahera period. The review investigated whether the footage showed a recent event; it did not dispute that the video depicts flooding, but found that it was old footage being presented as current.