Posts falsely link old quake videos to Japan's April 2026 tremor
- Published on April 24, 2026 at 10:21
- 3 min read
- By Chayanit ITTHIPONGMAETEE, AFP Thailand
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake rattled northern Japan on April 20, 2026, but videos shared on social media claiming to show the impact of the tremor in fact depict earlier quakes. One clip circulating online shows a shop in central Myanmar that later collapsed during the deadly March 2025 quake, while the other clip shows shoppers bracing themselves during the January 1, 2024 tremor that rocked western Japan.
"A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake has struck northern Japan," says the Thai-language caption of a Facebook video shared on April 21, 2026.
"Due to the risk of dangerous waves, the government has issued a tsunami warning and is urging coastal residents to evacuate to safe areas immediately."
The video shows a shop as an earthquake strikes, with the staff ducking for cover as an internal wall crumbles.
A similar Facebook video shared on the same day shows the inside of a shoe shop, with customers squatting on the ground as ceiling lights and shelves are shaken by a quake.
Part of its Thai-language caption says: "Shoppers ducked for cover to avoid falling items in a shoe store during the severe earthquake in Japan yesterday afternoon (April 20, 2026) at 16:52 local time (14:52 Thai time)."
The same videos were also shared in similar posts in several languages after Japan -- one of the world's most seismically active countries -- was struck by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake on April 20 (archived link).
That tremor rattled northern Japan and triggered tsunami waves of up to 80 centimetres (31 inches) at a port in Kuji, Iwate prefecture. The jolt was so intense that it shook large buildings in the capital Tokyo, hundreds of kilometres from the epicentre.
The videos shared online, however, do not depict the impact of the April 20 quake.
Myanmar quake 2025
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the first video led to the same footage uploaded by beauty products wholesaler "Ladybug" on TikTok on May 7, 2025 (archived link).
Its Burmese-language caption says: "All the employees escaped safely during the first tremor, the building collapsed during the second one. For those asking if everyone is safe, thank you so much for your support."
A date stamp saying "2025-03-28" is visible in the top-right corner of the original footage, though it has been cropped or obscured in many of the false posts.
The timestamp corresponds to a major disaster on March 28, 2025, when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar (archived link). The catastrophic quake left more than 3,800 dead and tens of thousands homeless (archived link).
The shop also shared the same video on their Facebook page on May 11, alongside an announcement that the branch on 62nd Street in the central city of Mandalay had to be demolished because of damage caused by the quake (archived link).
"We are looking for a new location for the shop and we will be back soon," it adds.
This footage has been previously debunked by AFP, after it was falsely attributed to earthquakes in Russia and the Philippines in 2025.
Japan quake 2024
A separate reverse image search using keyframes from the second falsely shared video led AFP to a clip posted on Instagram on January 1, 2024 (archived link).
The Japanese-language caption includes the hashtags "Ishikawa Earthquake" and "Noto Earthquake".
More than 700 people were killed when a massive earthquake hit the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on New Year's Day 2024 (archived link). The tremor caused widespread building collapses, major fires, and severe infrastructure failure, significantly affecting families during the New Year holiday.
A longer version of the footage can also be found in the 2024 Noto Earthquake & Tsunami Archive YouTube channel, which said it was filmed at the Mitsui Outlet Park in Oyabe (archived link).
The shop has several "SALE" signs and displays the logo of sportswear company Nike, which corresponds to photos of the ABC-Mart Sports Outlet in the Mitsui Outlet Park (archived link). It also appears to be opposite an Asics store, which is consistent with outlet park's floor guide (archived link).
AFP previously debunked misinformation related to the April 2026 earthquake.
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