A circulating Facebook reel claims to show footage of a rocket explosion allegedly captured in Palawan. This is false.
The footage actually showed a failed rocket launch in California in September 2021.
Published on Aug. 5, the 14-second video showed a rocket spinning in the sky before bursting into flames. The clip included an overlaid text that read:
“Biglang sumabog ng malakas. Puerto Princesa, Palawan.”
The post also carried a caption saying:
“Napakalakas ng biglaang pagsabog sa ere kanina lang padilim na.”
A reverse image search using Google revealed that the video was taken during the first launch of the Firefly Aerospace’s Alpha rocket on September 2, 2021 from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The original video, posted on YouTube by VideofromSpace channel, had the title “Relive Firefly rocket’s explosive first flight in these amazing views.”
In the description box, the channel explained that the rocket had a sudden engine shutdown just a few minutes into its ascent that caused the explosion.
The clip featured in the reel was lifted from the 2:23 mark of the original video.
In an Instagram post dated Sept. 5, 2021, news outlet CNN shared the same video from a different angle, citing the failure of the launch. CNBC likewise covered the incident, noting that the explosion caused by an anomaly occurred over the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California in the United States.
The false post surfaced after a trail of smoke and a series of loud sounds related to a Chinese rocket launch were reported in the eastern part of Palawan on Aug. 4.
The post, published by a Filipino Facebook user, has so far garnered 2.4 million views, 12,700 reactions, 3,600 shares, and 1,600 comments.
