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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

dpaDisasters & emergencies

Deze beelden zijn van de ramp in Ohio.

Publisher’s rating: De video toont een brand in Montreal op 23 januari 2023, niet de treinramp in East Palestine, Ohio. Over deze ramp werd uitvoerig bericht in de media.

The claim concerns a video of a nighttime fire shared as footage from the East Palestine, Ohio, train disaster. The review traced the video to a fire in Montreal on January 23, 2023, in the Saint-Laurent district. It reports that the footage was circulating as the Ohio disaster, but that its visible details and online provenance point elsewhere. The review describes several checks. At 00:04, investigators could read the name Ultramar on a gas station in the foreground; the review identifies Ultramar as a Canadian operator that does not operate in Ohio. The footage also showed a TikTok username, which appeared to be inactive. Searching for that username led to a video posted by a local Montreal Facebook page on January 24, 2023, that credited the TikTok account. The review says the disputed clip was the second segment in a montage of videos of the Montreal fire. The review further reports matching visible landmarks in Google Street View: a white railing, the gas station, two white garage doors behind it, and a wide road to the left. It places the fire 11 days before the February 3 derailment of fifty train cars in East Palestine. The review also addresses a related suggestion that media were not reporting the Ohio disaster, noting coverage by major US media and outlets in Belgium and the Netherlands. That separate media-coverage point does not change the location of the fire footage.

dpaDisasters & emergencies

Italiaanse chemische fabriek, één van de grootste in Europa, brandt volledig af.

Publisher’s rating: Het was een vleeswarenfabriek die in lichterlaaie stond op 9 februari, geen chemische fabriek. De brand vond plaats in het kleine dorpje Negrar, nabij Verona.

The claim concerns a video said to show one of Europe’s largest chemical factories burning down in northern Italy, in the Verona area. The review identifies the footage instead as a fire at a local meat-processing factory in Negrar, near Verona. It reports that the fire occurred on 9 February and that the business was the family-run Coati company; it states there was no chemical factory involved. To identify what the video showed, the review says it used a reverse image search and compared visible details at the scene with the location. It reports that Coati’s red logo can be seen on the burning building, and that the factory’s position beside fields matches the surroundings shown in the video. The review also says that comparison with Google Street View supports the location identification. The review describes substantial effects from the actual fire, but these do not establish the chemical-factory claim: one employee was seriously injured, the blaze continued for days, and there was extensive property damage. It says local residents were advised to stay indoors as much as possible and wear masks outdoors. The precise cause of the fire was still unknown according to the review’s account.

DoğrulaDisasters & emergencies

Bakanların depreme yakalandığı videonun güncel olduğu iddiası

Publisher’s rating: Yanlış

The claim concerned a video showing Süleyman Soylu, Murat Kurum, Fahrettin Koca and Çetin Oktay Kaldırım. It was shared after the 6 February earthquakes and linked to that disaster because a tremor is visible during the footage. The review’s finding was that the video was not current: it traced the recording to a press conference held after the Elazığ earthquake in 2020. To investigate, the review says it took a screenshot from the video and conducted a reverse-image search. It also searched for the names of people shown together with terms for an earthquake; both approaches led to older reports. The review dates the footage to 25 January 2020, when the officials were giving statements about the Elazığ earthquake and a light tremor occurred during the press conference. The review further identifies the final portion of the circulating video: then-Elazığ governor Çetin Oktay Kaldırım says, “Kamuoyunda da algı çok iyi şu an” to Süleyman Soylu. It reports that the governor’s remark was covered by news pages at the time. Thus, the visible tremor and officials do appear in the video, but the review’s account places the recording in the 2020 Elazığ press conference, not during the 6 February disaster.

dpaDisasters & emergencies

In Oost-Palestina, Ohio, vallen vogels uit de lucht en worden dieren ziek tot wel 600 kilometer van de treinontsporingslocatie.

Publisher’s rating: Niets wijst erop dat vogels uit de lucht vallen of dieren ziek worden in een radius van 600 kilometer rond East Palestine. In de directe omgeving van het treinongeluk worden wel meldingen gedaan van dieren die vermoedelijk aan een vinylchloride-vergiftiging zouden leiden, maar veel van deze gevallen zijn (nog) niet officieel door een dierenarts bevestigd. De foto in het bericht toont geen recente dode vogels uit Ohio, maar uit de omgeving van New Mexico in 2020.