US President Joe Biden delivers remarks at an event marking Amtrak's 50th Anniversary at the William H. Gray III 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 30, 2021. ( AFP / OLIVIER DOULIERY)

Video of model Amtrak trains shared in misleading posts about 'railway in Japan'

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on July 15, 2021 at 03:44
  • 2 min read
  • By AFP Pakistan
Facebook and Twitter users in Pakistan have shared a video alongside a claim it shows a "journey by train in Japan". But the video has been shared in a misleading context: it shows models of Amtrak trains operating in the US -- not in Japan.

The video was shared here on Facebook by a Pakistan-based user on July 4, 2021.

It has been viewed more than 700,000 times.

The video's Urdu-language caption translates to English as: "A beautiful and attractive scene of a journey by train in Japan on a dual-track. I hope we have the same in our country." 

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A screenshot taken on July 13, 2021, of the misleading Facebook post

The same video was shared alongside a similar claim on Facebook here, here and here; and on Twitter here.

Comments to the posts indicate some social media users were misled.

"Wow Japan is awesome," one wrote.

In fact, the video shows models of Amtrak trains that operate in the US. 

A keyword search on Google found the video was originally posted on YouTube here August 5, 2007.

The original video is captioned: "Talgo vs Superliner".

"Talgo" and "Superliner" refer to passenger train fleet operated by Amtrak, according to this company document.

Amtrak is the national rail operator in the US. 

The iconic US railroad, which receives considerable funding from the federal government and many US states, commemorated its 50th anniversary on April 30, 2021, AFP reported.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading posts (L) and the original video on YouTube (R):

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A screenshot comparison of the video in the misleading posts (L) and the original video on YouTube (R).

At the one-minute mark of the original YouTube video, the Amtrak logo and name can be seen displayed on the trains:

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Screenshot of the original video shows the model trains bear the Amtrak logo

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