Passengers ride in a train car as part of the "Train to Apocalypse" event featuring performers as zombies, in Jakarta, Indonesia on September 4, 2022 ( AFP / Adek Berry)

Video does not show zombie outbreak in China

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on March 30, 2023 at 19:48
  • 3 min read
  • By Natalie WADE, AFP USA

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Social media posts claim a video clip that shows frightened passengers fleeing a train car is footage of a zombie outbreak in China. This is false; the footage was taken during a zombie-themed event in Jakarta, Indonesia, inspired by a 2016 movie.

"Virus in china!!! Zombies," says the caption of a March 25, 2023 TikTok video which has amassed more than 37.7 million views and 989,900 likes.

It purports to show a "zombie outbreak" in China, as passengers frantically flee a train.

Screenshot of a TikTok taken March 29, 2023

The clip was also shared across other platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The posts do not make a direct connection to zombie viruses, which scientists describe as a virus trapped in permafrost, but are often portrayed in pop culture and film as resulting in a flesh-eating reanimated corpse.

The popularity of HBO series "The Last of Us" -- which follows the events of a fungal virus outbreak -- and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recent warnings regarding an emerging fungus that presents a global health threat, have raised fears among internet users.

In reality, this footage does not show reactions to a virus, nor was it filmed in China. The clip was captured during a zombie-themed event in Jakarta, Indonesia that AFP covered in 2022.

The posts capture participants abord the "Train to Apocalypse," an event put on by the Jakarta Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Pandora Box, inspired by the 2016 South Korean horror film "Train to Busan."

A spokesperson for LRT, who confirmed the footage was taken at the event, told AFP it offered passengers an "experience as if they were being chased by zombies on a train like the scene in the film."

Advertisements from 2022 can be found on the Pandora Box Instagram page (seen below), where videos showcasing similar zombie-themed events are also promoted.

AFP noted the handles for standing passengers, blue and orange signs written in Indonesian and the costumes worn by some of the actors are the same in the video and agency photos taken during the event. The similarities are circled below:

A performer acts as a zombie on board an LRT coach as part of the "Train to Apocalypse" event on September 4, 2022, with elements outlined by AFP ( Adek Berry)
Screenshots of a TikTok, with elements outlined by AFP

 

 

 

The event ran from August 5 to September 11, 2022 and aimed to encourage young people to take public transport in order to combat the city's traffic.

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