This photo shows a fire at a shopping mall in the Philippines in 2020

The photo was published here on March 2, 2021. It has been shared more than 8,000 times.

The Burmese-language post translates to English as: “Fire broke out at Kan Thar Yar hospital, which is owned by the son of Min Aung Hlaing. Please confirm! Posted this as I am so happy.”

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Screenshot of the misleading post, taken on March 11, 2021

The post circulated as protesters continue to demonstrate against the military coup that seized power in Myanmar in early February 2020 and which was led by Min Aung Hlaing, the country’s top military general. Here is AFP's latest report on the situation.

Kan Thar Yar International Specialist Hospital, which was opened by Min Aung Hlaing, has been criticized by activist groups for its links to the military.

Justice for Myanmar, for instance, describes the hospital as “a private for-profit facility under military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation”.

The photo of the burning building was also shared alongside similar claims on Facebook here, here, here, and here; and on TikTok here and here.

However, the claim is false.

A Google reverse image search found that the photo in fact shows a fire at a mall in the Philippines in 2020.

Corresponding video of the blaze was published by the Philippine Star newspaper here on May 15, 2020, in a report about a fire at the SM City Cebu shopping mall in the city of Cebu.

The caption of the video reads: “Fire broke out at SM City Cebu.
A fire broke out at the parking area located at the fifth floor of SM City Cebu on Friday morning. The fire reached third alarm and was already placed under control. | via The Freeman (Video courtesy of Jas Mar Miculob)”

Below is screenshot comparison of the photo in the misleading post (L) and the Philippine Star’s video (R):

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