Video from Myanmar misrepresented as 2026 earthquake in Venezuela

"Venezuela Hit By 2 Strongest Earthquakes, first earthquake in Venezuela had a magnitude of 7.1, while the second earthquake was of 7.5 magnitude," says a June 24, 2026 post on X sharing the video, in which workers wearing matching red uniforms are seen taking cover as a wall begins to crumble around them.

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Screenshot from X taken June 25, 2026

Similar posts spread across platforms, including in Spanish, after two massive earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 devastated areas west of Caracas on June 24. 

The quakes -- the second registering as the strongest to hit the country in over a century -- drove residents into the streets, collapsed buildings and cut out electricity, with the northern state of La Guaira hit particularly hard. Offers of rescue support and aid have flooded in from around the world as the casualty count mounts, including $150 million pledged by the US government.

At the same time, other social media posts claimed the same clip showed a different 7.2-magnitude earthquake that shook northern Japan on June 25, with no casualties or damage reported.

But the video has no relation with either emergency.

Reverse image searches surfaced an earlier post sharing the the video with a wider crop, such that viewers can see a sign on the wall that says, "Lady Bug," and a date indicating that the surveillance footage was recorded on March 28, 2025.

A catastrophic 7.7-magnitude earthquake that day rattled Myanmar and Thailand, leaving more than 3,800 people in Myanmar dead. 

Further searches on Google Maps revealed "Lady Bug" to be a beauty salon in Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar, which was badly hit by the tremor.

The company posted the original CCTV footage to Facebook and TikTok in May 2025, dating it to March 28 of that year (archived here and here). The posts said the staff escaped safely, but that the shop had to be demolished due to the damages sustained by the building, and that the business was looking for a new location.

This same footage has been repeatedly misrepresented, with AFP debunking posts that claimed it showed an April 2026 earthquake in Japan and a July 2025 earthquake in Russia.

Read more AFP fact-checks about the catastrophe hitting Venezuela here.