Video of car exploding after driver disinfects key is from a satirical TikTok account

This article is more than one year old.
Published on May 26, 2021 at 04:22
2 min read
By AFP Thailand

A video has been viewed thousands of times in Facebook and YouTube posts warning drivers that disinfecting car keys could cause their vehicle to explode. The claim is false: the video originates from a satirical TikTok account and uses footage of an explosion from Netflix series Narcos. Fire safety experts said it was “almost impossible” to make a vehicle explode by disinfecting the keys.

The video was shared here on Facebook on May 5, 2020. It has since been viewed more than 150,000 times.

“Don't sanitise your car keys,” the caption reads.

Screenshot of a Facebook post, taken on May 25, 2021

The video shows a man getting into a car and disinfecting surfaces, including his car keys. When he turns the engine on, a massive explosion engulfs the vehicle and sends bystanders flying into the air.

The video has been shared widely on social media, including in Chinese and Thai, alongside a similar warning.

However, the claim is false.

Satirical video

AFP traced the video to a satirical TikTok account based in Azerbaijan.

A TikTok logo and an account handle on the top-left of the footage found this higher quality video posted by @suleymanics on April 8, 2020.

The Azerbaijani-language caption reads: “Don't overdo it! #suleymanics”.

Screenshot of TikTok video, taken on May 25, 2021

The account’s Azerbaijani-language description explains that it publishes satirical and entertaining videos.

Explosion scene

A reverse image search on Yandex found the explosion scene originally shows a clip from Netflix series Narcos. It was posted here on YouTube on September 4, 2017.

“Narcos (Netflix Series) Season 3-Car Bomb Scene”, the video’s caption reads.

The purported explosion scene in the misleading post corresponds with the YouTube video at the one-minute 33-second mark.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the scene in the misleading video (L) and the YouTube video (R) :

Experts told AFP it was “almost impossible” to make a car explode by disinfecting car keys.

“Given that the amount of alcohol is very little, it is almost impossible for the car to explode,” Pichaya Chantranuwat, the Managing Director of Fusion Fire Safety, Thailand’s fire safety engineering consultancy firm told AFP.

“Usually, when you twist the car key, the surface will start the car which leads to a spark. If you disinfect your car keys, the opportunity for the spark to be ignited into a car explosion is very low because the spark will remain in the chamber," he said.

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