FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A Building Collapse From The Turkey Earthquake?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

A video on Facebook claims to show a building collapse following an earthquake in Turkey.

Verdict: False

The video is from 2021 and shows the collapse of the Surfside condo building in Florida.

Fact Check:

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey and Syria, killing at least 4,300 people and destroying thousands of buildings, according to The New York Times. The earthquake was felt in other countries such as Israel and Egypt, while Turkey was also hit by aftershocks, including a 7.5 magnitude quake hours later, the outlet reported.

The Facebook video claims to show a video of a building in Turkey collapsing. The video’s caption reads, “Powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake hits in southern Turkey. There are reports of several hundred dead.”

The video is not from Turkey. A reverse image search by Check Your Fact found the video shows the Surfside condo building collapsing in 2021. The video was posted to YouTube by ABC7 in June 2021, about a year and a half before the Turkey earthquake.

“Security camera video from an adjacent building captured the moment of a beachfront condo building collapsed in Surfside, a town outside Miami,” reads the video description.

Champlain Towers South, the Surfside condo building that collapsed, was 40 years old when the incident occurred, according to CBS News. The collapse killed 98 people and the cause of the collapse was unknown as of November 2022, though there are multiple investigations into the matter, the outlet reported. (RELATED: Did CNN Lighten The Skin Color Of The Officers Charged In Tyre Nichols’ Death?)

Social media users often take old footage and claim it shows a current event. For example, Check Your Fact recently debunked a video claiming to show looting in Memphis after the death of Tyre Nichols. The video was from 2019 and takes place in Canada.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
Follow Elias on Twitter Have a fact check suggestion? Send ideas to [email protected].

Trending