Photos show earthquake damage in Taiwan, not New York
- Published on April 5, 2024 at 23:24
- 3 min read
- By AFP USA
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"#earthquake tremors felt in New york! Did anyone noticed (sic)? I hope everyone is safe," said an April 5 X post sharing a photo of a rescue team looking over a collapsed road.
The post quickly gathered hundreds of likes before it was deleted. The verified account said in a comment that the photo "is not from NYC."
Other posts sharing identical or similar pictures of emergency responders amid rubble have circulated elsewhere on the platform, where disinformation has accelerated since billionaire Elon Musk's 2022 takeover.
While a 4.8-magnitude quake with an epicenter in New Jersey rattled Philadelphia to New York (archived here), no major casualties or damages were reported.
"There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage," the US Geological Survey said in an April 5 report (archived here).
The pictures circulating on X do not show the temblor's aftermath -- they were taken following a much stronger, more devastating temblor hit Taiwan on April 3.
Keyword searches found Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) released an image identical to one of those shared online.
At least 10 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured after the strongest earthquake the island has experienced in 25 years, prompting tsunami warnings in Japan and the Philippines that have since been lifted.
A reverse image search revealed the other picture shared on X previously circulated in the context of the Taiwan quake (archived here). It resembles another CNA photo taken that day, also in New Taipei City.
AFP has previously debunked old pictures and videos falsely associated with the Taiwan quake.
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