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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

El Detector / Univision NoticiasDisasters & emergencies

Video muestra que con el estallido de un cilindro de gas desaparecen los hombres que lo maniobraban.

Publisher’s rating: Manipulado

The claim concerns a video in which two men move a gas cylinder; after an explosion, the men appear to vanish. The Detector says it reviewed a 15-second clip with that sequence and concluded that the video was manipulated. It also notes that the accompanying phrase “Ni los zapatos se salvaron” suggests nothing visible remained of the men. The review describes both technical signs of editing and an assessment from chemical-safety expert Nigel Blumire. It reports that the cylinder-shaking sound is out of sync with the image, the recording has interruptions and cuts, and the men’s image freezes and gradually disappears after the explosion. Blumire said an explosion of this kind would knock people down and could burn them, but would not be expected to destroy their bodies as depicted. He added that the explosion’s sound does not appear to match the scene. The review also puts the clip’s depiction in context: according to Blumire, gas-cylinder explosions are relatively unlikely, and the result shown in the video is not what such an accident would look like. The Detector says reverse-image searches found the clip circulating at least since 2014, while noting that it was shared as if the explosion were real. Together, the reported editing clues and the expert’s assessment support the conclusion that the video is manipulated, rather than evidence that the men disappeared in a real cylinder explosion.

dpaDisasters & emergencies

Medien haben bei Berichterstattung über Brände auf Rhodos übertrieben. Dieses Video zeigt das wahre Ausmaß der Brände.

Publisher’s rating: Das Video ist irreführend, denn es zeigt nur eine Momentaufnahme und nicht das gesamte Ausmaß der Brände auf der Insel. Die Feuer auf Rhodos wüteten länger als eine Woche an verschiedenen Orten und mit wechselnder Intensität. Satellitenbilder zeigen, dass die Schäden auf einer viel größeren Fläche entstanden, als die einzelne Rauchfahne in dem Video vermuten lässt.

PA MediaDisasters & emergencies

Arson, not climate change, is to blame for the hundreds of wildfires engulfing large parts of the Mediterranean region.

Publisher’s rating: Misleading: While it is true that Greek officials have pointed to human negligence or arson as the cause of most of the wildfires, it is inaccurate to imply that climate change is not also to blame for the scale and severity. The same officials have said that the difference to wildfires in past years was an unprecedented heatwave caused by climate change.

مرصد أخبار ميترDisasters & emergencies

مصعد يسحق طفلا في مصر

Publisher’s rating: خبر كاذب - الفيديو أحدث جدلًا، حيث تخيل البعض أن الحادث وقع في أحد العقارات في مصر حديثًا، وتسائلوا عن مكان وقوع الحادث.

FACTLYDisasters & emergencies

Visuals of a recent incident at Delhi Zoo, where a man fell into a lion’s cage and the lion took his life

Publisher’s rating: MISLEADING

The post presents footage of a man inside a lion’s enclosure as showing a recent fatal incident at Delhi Zoo. The review identifies the footage as depicting an incident at the National Zoological Park in Delhi on 17 October 2019, rather than a recent event. It reports that a 28-year-old man entered the enclosure, but was rescued and was not killed.

dpaDisasters & emergencies

Dieses Video zeigt, dass die Medien übertreiben und der Brand auf Rhodos gar nicht so schlimm war.

Publisher’s rating: Das Video ist eine Momentaufnahme und zeigt nicht das ganze Ausmaß der Brände und Zerstörungen auf der Insel. Die Feuer auf Rhodos wüteten länger als eine Woche an verschiedenen Orten und mit wechselnder Intensität. Satellitenbilder zeigen, dass die Schäden auf einer viel größeren Fläche entstanden, als die einzelne Rauchfahne in dem Video vermuten lässt. Es ist deshalb irreführend.

The video shows a smoke plume from a localized fire, filmed from the air over Rhodes. It was shared to support the claim that reporting had exaggerated the fires, with a man in the video saying that the media portrayed all of Rhodes as burning. The review identifies the landform in the footage as southern Rhodes, but says the video’s date cannot be established. Its smoke plume is consistent with fire activity on July 25, 2023; that single view therefore does not establish the scale of fires across the island. The review compares the footage with NASA’s FIRMS fire information system. It reports that fires detected between July 19 and 25 extended across part of the island’s interior and southeast coast, rather than being limited to the plume in the video. The review also notes that the fires did not all burn simultaneously and that conditions varied by location. It cites reports that about 10 percent of the island had burned in the preceding week, and that tens of thousands of people had to leave hotels and seek safety. On July 25, residents and tourists were still being urged to leave three southeastern locations; much of the north remained unaffected. Other satellite imagery adds evidence of the damage: an ESA image from July 23 showed burned areas, with the agency estimating that about 11,000 hectares had been lost by then—7.85 percent of Rhodes. The review says that area grew as fires continued for several more days. Taken together, the video’s limited view and the satellite-based evidence of fires and burned land across a wider area show why the clip alone could not represent the overall situation.

FACTLYDisasters & emergencies

Visuals showing multiple explosions due to the collision between two electric vehicles

Publisher’s rating: FALSE

The claim concerns a video of repeated explosions that was shared as showing two electric vehicles colliding. The review identifies the footage as an accident in Moscow in July 2013 involving a truck carrying propane canisters and a passenger bus. It says the collision caused canisters to ignite and detonate repeatedly, and that neither vehicle was electric: “An Isuzu truck, carrying 119 propane gas canisters, collided with a regular passenger bus.” The review reports that everyone survived. To investigate the footage, the review says it used reverse image search to find a longer version uploaded to YouTube in 2017. That version shows events before the explosions, including the truck carrying gas canisters colliding with other vehicles and canisters catching fire. The review then consulted news reports about the Moscow accident. These steps connect the viral visuals to the earlier crash rather than relying only on the post’s description. The review further notes that the news reports it consulted did not describe either vehicle as electric. It adds that Isuzu did not have an all-electric truck model in 2013 and that electric buses were introduced in Moscow only in 2018. On the evidence presented, the footage shows repeated detonations of propane canisters after a collision involving a non-electric truck and bus—not a collision between two electric vehicles.