Staged drowning video falsely linked to devastating southern China flooding

Published on July 14, 2026 at 05:00
2 min read
By Chelsea CHAN, AFP Hong Kong

After severe flooding in southern China's Guangxi region killed dozens in July 2026, a staged video was shared in posts falsely claiming it showed two people who had drowned. The footage was originally posted in May; it was cropped to remove a disclaimer identifying it as a "drowning prevention education video" and was shared by an account that posted several similar clips.

"Might have happened in Hengzhou, Guangxi," says the simplified Chinese caption of an X video shared by an account with more than 139,000 followers on July 8, 2026.

The 13-second clip appears to show two people floating face-down in muddy water.

Screenshot of the false post captured on July 13, 2026, with a red X added by AFP

The video was also shared in similar X posts after torrential rain and severe flooding from Typhoon Maysak wreaked havoc on southern and central China in July, with state media reporting that fast-flowing muddy water had burst the banks of 40 rivers and waterways in Guangxi (archived link).

Natural disasters are common across China, particularly in the summer when some regions experience intense rainfall while others bake in scorching heat. The intensity and frequency of global extreme weather events, however, will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions, scientists warn.

While officials said floods in Guangxi had killed at least 39 people, the video circulating on social media does not show victims of the disaster (archived link).

A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to higher-quality footage posted on Douyin on May 30 (archived link).

"Non-professionals are advised not to imitate. This is a drowning prevention education video," says simplified Chinese text superimposed on the clip, which had been cropped out in the version circulating online.

Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared video (L) and the May 30 Douyin video, with its disclaimer highlighted in blue by AFP

AFP reached out to the Douyin user for comment, but a response was not forthcoming.

They have posted several similar videos on their page, tagging them with text reading "flood escape" and "exercise caution when swimming outdoors" (archived link).

Screenshots of similar videos posted by the Douyin user

AFP has previously debunked a slew of false and misleading information, which often surfaces during or after natural disasters.

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