A Facebook user posted a video supposedly showing people in Koh Larn island, Thailand struggling to board a boat due to rough sea waves caused by an earthquake. This is false.
Uploaded on March 29, a day after a powerful temblor hit Thailand, the erroneous video carried text and caption that read:
“Sa lakas ng lindol march 28, 2025 sa Thailand. Biglaang lumaki ang alon sa dagat sa lakaas ng.lindol (The strong earthquake on March 28, 2025 in Thailand. The waves at sea suddenly rose because of the powerful quake).”
The incident in the clip was taken early this year, during monsoon weather, not following the recent earthquake.
A reverse image search using Google revealed the clip to be of tourists that was first posted on Jan. 16 by Pattaya News, a media outlet based in Thailand.
Another news organization, Pattaya Mail, published a report of the same video the following day.
According to the report, the footage was taken when strong winds and waves hit the island of Koh Larn, which, at that time, was experiencing monsoon weather.
The report further stated that weather forecasts predicted wave heights around Koh Larn to exceed two to three meters in some areas, posing risks to tourism and maritime activities. In turn, authorities warned tourists to avoid risky areas with high waves.
The malicious post surfaced a day after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake hit Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand and Myanmar, on March 28.
The false video garnered 1,800,000 views, 6,400 likes, 131 comments, and 245 shares as of writing.
