A video posted on Facebook (FB) and TikTok supposedly showing a huge tsunami wave hitting a shore in Northern California after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake is fake. This is AI-generated.
The earthquake that shook part of Northern California on Dec. 5, 2024 did not trigger a tsunami. Reportedly, the National Weather Service canceled the brief tsunami alert after it observed little sea-level change and determined that the type of quake shifted more horizontally and was unlikely to cause tsunamis.
The video, posted to TikTok on Dec. 6, 2024 and republished to Facebook by a Filipino netizen on Jan. 16, carried this caption:
“BREAKING NEWS | Parts of Northern California under tsunami warning after 7.0-magnitude earthquake (sic).”
Reverse image search shows that the original video, published on Aug. 17, 2024, came from YouTube channel Nibriu (created on Oct. 31, 2023) which frequently posts AI-generated videos of tsunamis.
Aside from the #ai in its description, the video in question also carried an “altered or synthetic content” disclaimer. For context, YouTube requires creators to “disclose content that is meaningfully altered or synthetically generated when it seems realistic.” Yet many seemed to have been misled as seen in the comments.
“Grabe naman (This is too much),” a netizen commented. “Fake news, I’m here [in] Northern California,” another user countered.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake did happen off the shores of Cape Mendocino on Dec. 5, 2024, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This triggered tsunami warnings in Northern California, from Oregon to Sta. Cruz, California, news outlets reported.
The video garnered over 6,800 reactions, 557 comments, and 1,400 shares on Facebook. An older version, published on Dec. 6 by TikTok user @soulwhispers28, got over 1.8 million views.
Both videos appeared as multiple wildfires across California burned thousands of acres of homes and forests in multiple areas.
