A video of a truck suspended on a collapsed bridge in Guatemala is being passed off by Facebook (FB) netizens as a scene from Bukidnon.
As early as July 12, the 30-second clip went around online with text claiming the incident happened at “Atugan Bridge” in Bukidnon or the “CDO [Cagayan de Oro] to Bukidnon road”.
Other netizens posted the clip to verify if the scene was indeed local, while some later clarified that it happened in another country.
The clip actually shows an incident in Jutiapa, Guatemala when heavy rainfall caused the El Colorado bridge to collapse on June 28 and suspend a truck over the collapsed section of the bridge.
On July 12, the Philippine Information Agency-Bukidnon’s FB page posted an advisory saying the clip does not show the Atugan Bridge in Impasugong, Bukidnon.
The video used in the false posts has been circulated by Latino netizens on FB and TikTok since June 30, where publishers wrote in their captions that the incident happened in Guatemala. FB page Yo soy Chapin posted live streams of the scene on June 29.
The El Colorado bridge collapse was also reported by Guatemalan media organizations such as Noti7, TN23, and Telediario and El Salvadoran paper Periódico Día a Día News.
The erroneous posts circulated as Bukidnon experienced heavy rainfall caused by Habagat or the Southwest Monsoon.
The false posts by at least four FB users collectively garnered 3,132 reactions, 475 comments, 1,213 shares and 375,015 views. Other posts that needed context also garnered 5,300 reactions, 945 comments, 7,800 shares and 1,127,000 views.