Crocodile digitally inserted into photograph of flooding in the Philippines
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on July 27, 2021 at 09:52
- Updated on July 27, 2021 at 09:56
- 2 min read
- By AFP Hong Kong
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The misleading image was published here on Facebook on July 21, 2021.
It purports to show a crocodile entering a flooded house.
The post's simplified Chinese-language caption translates to English as: "#HenanRainstorm# Aquarium in Xingyang has broke, crocodile went out for a swim".
The post emerged online after record floods hit Henan province, prompting authorities to issue China's highest flood warning level, as reported by AFP here.
Henan is a province located in north-central China.
The same image was also shared alongside a similar claim on YouTube here, and on Chinese discussion forums here and here.
The claim is false: the image has been digitally altered to include a crocodile.
A reverse image search on Google has found the same photo published here by Facebook user Bobsteel B Gualiza on June 1, 2021.
It was shared from the Philippines.
The post's Visayan-language caption translates to English as: "We cannot go out because there's a visitor".
Gualiza told AFP that he created the image digitally for his own entertainment.
He also shared the original photo without the crocodile.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the original version of the photo provided by Gualiza (R):
The photo was taken during a flood in the province of Agusan Del Norte, he said.
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