Video shows bridge in China swept away in 2021, not 'during 2023 flood in Malaysia'
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on April 11, 2023 at 09:35
- Updated on April 11, 2023 at 10:30
- 4 min read
- By Arfa YUNUS, AFP Malaysia
Copyright © AFP 2017-2025. Any commercial use of this content requires a subscription. Click here to find out more.
"Labis bridge, Johor", reads the Malay-language caption of a TikTok post, which was uploaded on March 1, 2023.
The post shared a 20-second video, which shows a bridge being swept away by a strong current. It has been watched more than 4,500 times since.
The post was shared on the same day as a major flood hit Malaysia's Johor state, including the town of Labis.
Johor -- which borders Singapore -- was the hardest hit by the devastating floods that inundated six Malaysian states in March 2023, killing at least five people and forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate.
The video also circulated with a similar claim in early March 2023 elsewhere on TikTok here, on Facebook here and here, and on Twitter here, racking up more than 900 views.
It was also shared in English posts in February 2023, with some claiming the clip was taken in Baberton, a town in South Africa, while others purporting it was shot in Baberton, a city in the US state of Ohio.
However, all the claims are false.
A combination of a reverse image and keyword searches found a similar video, published by Newsflare video licensing company, titled: "Steel bridge washed away by flooded river in southern China".
According to the caption, it was shot in the city of Nanping, in China's Fujian province, on June 28, 2021, as a steel bridge collapsed into the flooded Mayang River.
The 50-second video from Newsflare, which was taken from a slightly different angle, shows the same moments when the bridge was swept away.
However, the video in the false post is the mirror image of the Newsflare footage.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and the genuine video from Newsflare (right) -- with corresponding features marked by AFP:
According to Chinese news reports here and here, the steel bridge was one of two bridges that were destroyed by a flood that hit Nanping on June 28, 2021 -- hours after a sudden heavy rainfall caused the water level of Mayang River, in Tancheng county, to rise.
The location of the collapsed steel bridge could be traced to Kaoting village, Nanping, as shown on Google Earth here.
A closer look at both the Google Earth screenshot and the video in the false post confirms the video was flipped.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and the Google Earth imagery (right) -- with similar features identified by AFP.
Johor police chief Kamarul Zaman Mamat said the collapsing bridge seen in the video posted to TikTok was not from the Malaysian state and warned the public of legal repercussions for sharing and spreading false information.
"The video showed a bridge collapsing and being swept by strong river currents. We confirmed that the incident did not happen in Johor and it is believed it happened in a foreign country," he said in a statement, posted on Facebook on March 1, 2023.
Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.
Contact us
