Old video shows deadly quake in Turkey, not Afghanistan

Published on September 8, 2025 at 08:43
3 min read
By Pasika KHERNAMNUOY, AFP Thailand

Dramatic footage of a building collapsing was shot after a deadly earthquake in Turkey in February 2023, contrary to posts claiming it was filmed in Afghanistan in September 2025. The footage previously circulated in posts and news reports about the collapse in southeastern Turkey, and corresponds to Google Street View imagery of the area.

The video of a building crumbling to the ground has accumulated over 7,000 views since it was published in a Facebook post on September 1, 2025.

Its superimposed Thai-language text reads: "Scary natural disaster in Afghanistan -- as of 01/09/25, thousands missing and 622 dead from a 6.0 magnitude quake."

Screenshot of the false Facebook post taken on September 3, 2025, with a red X added by AFP

The same footage was also shared in similar Facebook and TikTok posts after a magnitude-6.0 earthquake jolted Afghanistan's eastern mountainous region bordering Pakistan (archived link).

At least 2,205 were killed and more than 3,640 injured by the quake, as Taliban authorities say rescue efforts are still ongoing.

But the circulating clip was not filmed in Afghanistan.

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video combined with keyword searches led to the same footage uploaded to X on February 6, 2023 (archived link).

"While I was filming the collapsed building, a new earthquake occurred, and the building next to me collapsed," reads its Turkish-language caption.

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the footage posted in February 2023 (right)

Its caption includes the hashtag "Gaziantep", which is a province in southeastern Turkey close to the Syrian border.

The footage was also used by media outlets such as the BBC and NBC News in reports about the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck the region in the early hours of February 6, 2023 (archived here and here).

AFP reported that almost 60,000 people had been killed in the quake -- 53,537 in Turkey and 1,414 in Syria (archived link).

The circulating footage also matches Google's Street View imagery of the area taken before the earthquake, in October 2022 (archived link).

Screenshot comparison of the February 6 X video (left) and its location on Google Maps street view (right), with similarities highlighted by AFP

AFP has previously debunked false claims that misrepresented footage from the Turkey earthquake in 2023.

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