A Facebook (FB) page posted several photos supposedly of the massive flooding in China this June. This is misleading as the images are from 2016.
Uploaded on June 22, the FB post carried five images of flooded streets, submerged vehicles and residents evacuating, claiming that these were from the deadly flooding in areas in China this month. A part of the caption read:
“CHINA, NAKAKARANAS NG MATINDING PAGBAHA DAHIL SA MALAKAS NA PAG ULAN. LOOK: Nakakaranas ng malalakas na pag-ulan at matinding pagbaha dulot ng frontal system ang Guangxi Province ng China, na nagdudulot ng MATINDING BAHA sa maraming lugar doon
(CHINA IS EXPERIENCING SEVERE FLOODING DUE TO HEAVY RAINFALL. LOOK: China’s Guangxi Province is experiencing heavy rains and severe flooding caused by a frontal system, causing SEVERE FLOODING in many areas there).”
Other FB posts similarly claiming to show flooding in China this month also used the same photos among other images.
These are misleading. The five photos were taken in China’s Fujian province during the onslaught of Typhoon Megi in 2016.
The first and second images of streets submerged in flood waters were taken in Fuzhou City on Sept. 28, 2016.
Two photos also show the police using excavators to evacuate stranded locals on the same day and city.
Another photo of firefighters and police evacuating residents in Ningde City, still in the Fujian province, on Sept. 28, 2016.
These photos of Typhoon Megi’s devastation in 2016 resurfaced with incorrect context as torrential storms flooded provinces in southern China starting June 9.
VERA Files Fact Check has debunked previous posts bearing photos or videos of disasters given the wrong context. (Read Another ‘Typhoon Egay in China’ video MISLEADS netizens)
The misleading post by the FB page Kenneth V. (created on Sept. 1, 2023 as University ng mga tamad mag aral) garnered 12,000 reactions, 2,500 comments and 23,000 shares. Other FB pages’ posts also misleadingly include the five old photos alongside actual images of the flooding in China this year.
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(Editor's Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)