FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show A Crack In The Earth’s Crust Caused By The Turkey-Syria Earthquake?

Christine Sellers | Fact Check Reporter

A video shared on Twitter purports to show a 300 km-long crack in the earth’s crust as a result of the Feb. 6 Turkey-Syria earthquake.

Verdict: Misleading

While the Turkey-Syria earthquake did cause a 300 km-long rupture, this video predates the February 2023 earthquake.

Fact Check:

A 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6, according to The Associated Press. Another earthquake hit Turkey on its border with Syria on Feb. 20, bringing the death count from the two to 47,000, the outlet reported.

The Twitter video appears to show a large crack in the earth following the earthquake from an overhead view. “Turkey Syria Earthquake Caused 300 km Long Crack in Earth’s Crust,” the Twitter video, liked over 1,000 times, purports.

Although the Feb. 6 Turkey-Syria earthquake did cause a 300 km-long rupture, according to NDTV, the video is not from Turkey.

A reverse image search revealed the video was posted to Instagram on Dec. 5, 2021, predating the earthquake by more than a year. The video was also uploaded to a Chinese YouTube channel in 2022. (RELATED: Do These Videos Show The Earthquake In Turkey And Syria?)

The crack shown in the video was from Pinglu county in the southern Shanxi province of China, according to India Today. The outlet indicated it used keywords from the YouTube video to find satellite images of the video’s location and its coordinates to find the crack on Google Maps.

The purported video is not included in any credible news reports that mention the crack resulting from the Feb. 6 Turkey-Syria earthquake. Likewise, the video neither appears on the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) ‘s website nor its verified social media accounts.

Images of surface cracks from Turkey following the earthquake have been reported on by credible news sources, including The Wall Street Journal and DW.

Misinformation surrounding the Turkey-Syria earthquake has widely circulated on social media. Check Your Fact recently debunked a photo allegedly showing a blue flash in the sky moments before the earthquake struck.

Christine Sellers

Fact Check Reporter

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