This photo shows a bridge in Florida -- not a planned bridge in the Philippines

This article is more than one year old.
Published on October 16, 2019 at 02:01
3 min read
By AFP Philippines

A photo has been shared thousands of times on Facebook alongside a claim it shows the proposed Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge in the Philippines. The photo is being used in a misleading context; it actually shows the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Florida. Previously, the same photo was also wrongly described as showing another proposed long-span bridge in the Philippines. Philippine authorities say the government is still studying the feasibility of constructing the Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge.

The photo was published here on Facebook on October 6, 2019.

It shows an aerial view of a long-span bridge.

Below is a screenshot of the misleading post:

Screenshot of Facebook post

The post’s Tagalog-language caption translates to English as: "JIMMY Z POWERADIO NEWS

"'HEART' THIS BECAUSE IT'S COMING SOON

"PROPOSED BATAAN-CAVITE BRIDGE".

Bataan and Cavite are Philippine provinces near the capital Manila. They are separated by the Manila Bay.

The photo was shared more than 1,500 times on Facebook, and appeared to generate excitement among social media users.

Below are screenshots of some of the comments:

The Tagalog-language comments translate to English as: “haha fun cavite will be closer to bataan

“That’s beautiful

“No more getting stuck in traffic in manila

“hope there’s a lane for motorcycle hehe

“That’s nice bro”.

The photo is being used in a misleading context; it shows a bridge in the US state of Florida.

A reverse image search on Google found the same image published here by UK-based photo agency Alamy.

It shows the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which links St. Petersburg and Terra Ceia in the US state of Florida.

Below is a screenshot of the photo on Alamy’s website:

Screenshot of photo on Alamy website

The photo’s caption states: “Scenic aerial photo of Sunshine Skyway Bridge, fishing pier, Tampa Bay, Florida. Contributor: Alex Gore / Alamy Stock Photo”.

The photo corresponds with Google Street View imagery of the bridge below:

In March 2019, AFP debunked misleading social media posts which used the same photo along with several others about another proposed long-span bridge in the central Philippine provinces of Cebu and Bohol.

The Bataan-Cavite Interlink Bridge, which could be as long as 31 kilometers, is the longest proposed bridge among the several “inter-island linkage projects” envisioned by the government to connect the archipelago. The bridge is listed on page 117 of this midterm government report.

AFP had asked the Philippine public works agency for the latest details on the proposed bridge.

In an email on October 9, 2019, it said a feasibility study is still ongoing.

A portion of the email reads: “Started in November 2018, [a feasibility study] for the 32.15-kilometer bridge project is now 87% complete.”

The public works agency also sent AFP an information card showing bridge alignment options, a model image of a long-span bridge, and further details about the project.

Below is a screenshot of the information card:

Screenshot of information card

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