Posts showing photos of damaged malls in Mindanao supposedly as a result of a recent earthquake are false. The photos from last year’s quake are being passed off as new.
On Dec. 7, several Facebook (FB) pages and users posted three photos supposedly of quake-damaged malls in General Santos City. The posts carried the same caption:
“MALAKAS NA LINDOL, YUMANIG SA ILANG BAHAGI NG BANSA NGAYONG HAPON! Naramdaman sa ilang bahagi ng bansa ang magnitude 6.8 na lindol partikular sa General Santos City. Nakuhanan din ng video ang pagyanig na nagdulot ng kabi-kabilaang pinsala sa imprastraktura. Nagtakbuhan ang mga residentw (sic) nasa mall at palengke habang lumilindol. Napadasal naman ang iba habang naghahanap ng ligtas na lugar. Sa lakas ng lindol, isang bahay ang gumuho at nadaganan pa ang isang sasakyang nakaparada. Inaalam pa ang kabuuang balita ng pagyanig na ‘yan
(A STRONG EARTHQUAKE SHOOK SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY THIS AFTERNOON! A magnitude 6.8 earthquake was felt in several parts of the country, particularly in General Santos City. A video was also taken of the tremor that caused extensive damage to infrastructure. The residentw (sic) in the mall and market ran during the earthquake. Others prayed while looking for a safe place. Due to the earthquake’s intensity, a house collapsed and a parked car was run over. The complete report on the earthquake is still being verified).”
These are false. The photos show the situation in malls in General Santos City and Koronadal City after a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck parts of Mindanao in 2023.
The FB pages and users merely reposted the content of a report published on FB by Pangasinan-based reporter Russel Simorio after the quake on Nov. 17, 2023.
Reverse image search revealed that the first photo was taken inside SM City General Santos and published by Radyo Pilipinas the same day.
According to several news reports, the second photo shows the collapsed ceilings of a Robinsons mall in GenSan.
The third photo is of the damaged exteriors of Gaisano Mall in Koronadal as uploaded by a FB user on Nov. 17. A video published by Iloilo Metropolitan Times’ FB page shows the same scene.
Some of the false posts carried links that redirect netizens to e-commerce platforms.
The photos resurfaced more than two weeks after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology recorded a magnitude 5.2 quake hitting portions of Mindanao including General Santos City.
VERA Files has debunked other posts containing old photos and videos of quake-stricken areas also passed off as new.
Ten posts by FB netizens including those from pages Emery Kennedy (created on Dec. 8, 2022), Balita (created on March 10, 2022 as Personal blogger) and ππππ πππ ππππ ππππππ (March 18, 2023) collectively garnered 853 reactions, 221 comments and 464 shares.
