Old photo of quake-hit Buddhist landmark falsely linked to Myanmar army strikes

"The historic Myatheindan Pagoda was reduced to rubble due to a Junta attack," reads a Burmese-language Facebook post on February 23, 2026.

The white 19th-century Buddhist pagoda, also called Hsinbyume Pagoda, is known for its completely white architecture and sits on the banks of the Irrawaddy river in central Myanmar (archived link).

The post features three images of the structure, two of which show damage to the stupa.

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Screenshot taken on March 10, 2026 of the false post with a red X added by AFP

Myanmar has been consumed by civil war since the military staged a coup five years ago, provoking armed resistance from democracy activists and ethnic minority factions that have long held sway in the nation's fringes.

In January 2026, the military concluded a heavily restricted election it has touted as a return to civilian rule (archived link). The dominant pro-military party won a walkover victory in the polls democracy watchdogs said was stacked with army allies to prolong its grip on power.

It has since continued shelling territory held by rebel groups, with a strike on a village market in the western coastal state of Rakhine in late February killing 17 "innocent civilians", according to the ethnic minority Arakan Army, which controls the area (archived link).

The images of the damaged pagoda circulated alongside similar claims about a junta strike on Facebook, but there have been no credible reports of military strikes targeting the Myatheindan pagoda as of March 11, 2026.

Quake-damaged pagoda

A reverse image search on Google found the first photo of the damaged stupa published by Myanmar news outlet The Irrawaddy in its report about a major 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the country on March 28, 2025 (archived link).

According to the report, more than 80 historical buildings, including Buddhist temples, monasteries and mosques were destroyed in the quake, which claimed more than 3,700 lives in the Southeast Asian nation (archived link).

The ruling junta said more than 3,000 monasteries and nunneries were destroyed alongside more than 5,000 pagodas.

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Screenshot comparison of the photo from the false post (L) to the photo from the Irrawaddy report

Further keyword searches on TikTok found the other image of the damaged pagoda matches a video published on April 12, 2025, captioned, "historical heritage landmarks all destroyed" (archived link).

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Screenshots comparison of the photo from the false post (L) to the TikTok video

The user, a member of a Mandalay-based rescue team, also shared another video on the same day showing the damage to the Myatheindan pagoda (archived link).

He can be heard saying in the video: "It is very sad to see this historical heritage. This pagoda is the famous historical Myatheindan pagoda in Sagaing."

The user did not respond to AFP's request for comment.

The same image was also featured in an X post by The Irrawaddy on February 26, 2026 about the urgent need to restore the pagoda (archived link).

The first photo shared in the post, which shows the pagoda before it was damaged, was featured in a Facebook post by the verified account of Myanmar Ministry of Hotels and Tourism on February 3, 2025 (archived link).

AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the unrest in Myanmar.