This video shows an earthquake that struck Indonesia in 2009, not in 2021

  • This article is more than one year old.
  • Published on December 16, 2021 at 05:59
  • 2 min read
  • By AFP Indonesia
A video has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Facebook and TikTok alongside a claim that it shows a 7.5-magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Indonesia on December 14, 2021 — causing panic but no deaths or major damage. The claim is false; the clip has circulated online since 2009 in reports about an earthquake hitting Indonesia's West Sumatra province. 

The 20-second video was shared here on December 14, 2021, on TikTok.

It has been viewed more than 287,000 times.

It shows people panicking on the street as a nearby structure collapses.

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Screenshot of misleading post, taken on December 15, 2021

The Indonesian text overlaid on the video reads as: "7.5 [magnitude] earthquake in NTT". 

NTT refers to East Nusa Tenggara, a province in the eastern part of Indonesia.

A 7.3-magnitude earthquake hit East Nusa Tenggara province on December 14, 2021, causing panic but no deaths or major damage, AFP reported

The same video has been viewed more than 33,000 times alongside a similar claim on Facebook here, here and here; as well as on TikTok here and here

However, the claim is false. 

A reverse image search on Yandex followed by keyword search found this longer video posted on YouTube on October 9, 2009.

The Indonesian-language title translates as: “Amateur Video During the 2009 Padang West Sumatra Earthquake”.

An old logo of Indonesian broadcaster Trans TV is also visible throughout the footage.  

A 7.6-magnitude hit Padang, the capital city of West Sumatra province, on September 30, 2009, killing at least 1,100 people, the BBC reported here

Below is a screenshot comparison of the clip in the misleading posts (L) and the 2009 video on YouTube (R):

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Screenshot comparison of the clip in the misleading posts (L) and the 2009 video on YouTube (R)

This video report, posted by Padang-based news outlet Harian Haluan on its YouTube channel on September 29, 2019, includes a short clip of the 2009 earthquake. 

The video is titled: “WEST SUMATERA EARTHQUAKE 2009 | 10 Years of the West Sumatra Disaster, September 30, 2009”. 

An identical scene can be seen at the video's 18-second mark.

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