Some social media accounts have incorrectly claimed a video of strong winds brought on by a storm that hit the Philippines in 2020 as footage of Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai), now making its way through parts of Visayas and Mindanao.
Among those that posted the clip with false context were a couple of Facebook (FB) pages of Bombo Radyo.
STATEMENT
As Odette made landfall in Southern Leyte on Dec. 16, Bombo Radyo Iloilo and Bombo Radyo Gensan uploaded a clip showing a mix of lashing rain and gusty winds that caused a gate to swing violently and trees to bend toward one direction. It bore the caption:
“WATCH | MAASIN SOUTHERN LEYTE, GINPAIDALOM SA SIGNAL 4”
Source: Bombo Radyo Iloilo Facebook page and Bombo Radyo Gensan, Dec. 16, 2021
Both credited the video to a group calling themselves “United Emergency Responders.” Bombo Radyo Iloilo’s post has received over 51,000 views as of publication, while the one of its General Santos City bureau has obtained more than 43,000.
A private FB user also posted the video on his page the same day, with the similar claim that it showed the current situation in Maasin City, Southern Leyte. This post has already been viewed over 2,300 times.
FACT
The clip does not show the devastation caused by Odette, but of Super Typhoon Rolly (international name: Goni), the strongest typhoon of 2020.
A copy of the original video, captured by a netizen, was uploaded by Philstar.com on FB on Nov. 1, 2020, when Rolly made landfall in the Bicol region. The caption provided by the media organization said the footage was in the municipality of Buhi in Camarines Sur.
The FB pages of the newspaper The Manila Standard and local radio station Brigada News FM 92.7 Pampanga also featured the video in reports it ran about Rolly on Nov. 1, 2020.
Netizens were quick to point out in the comment sections of the circulating posts that it misinforms the public and that the actual video shows the effects of the 2020 supertyphoon.
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Sources
Philstar.com, “Rolly in Buhi, Camarines Sur,” Nov. 1, 2020
Manila Standard, “WATCH | Typhoon Rolly barrels through Bicol region.,” Nov. 1, 2020
Brigada News FM 92.7 Pampanga, “PANOORIN ang lakas ng hagupit ni bagyong #RollyPH,” Nov. 1, 2020
(Guided by the code of principles of the International Fact-Checking Network at Poynter, VERA Files tracks the false claims, flip-flops, misleading statements of public officials and figures, and debunks them with factual evidence. Find out more about this initiative and our methodology.)
