A few days ago, a shocking video of a natural disaster circulated on social media, causing panic and confusion. The video showed a torrent of mud and water wreaking havoc on a street, apparently connected to the recent devastating floods in Derna, eastern Libya, which claimed thousands of lives. However, a fact-check reveals that this claim is entirely false. Contrary to the claims made on social media, the video in question is old from July 3, 2021, showcasing a horrifying landslide in Japan that struck the region and did not arise from Libya.
Misuse of Social Media
Social media influencers have been sharing this old landslide video from Japan, falsely attributing it to the recent Libya flood. Their apparent goal is to spread panic and garner attention among the affected population in the region. Notably, one main account, @WorldTimesWT, shared the clip with the misleading caption: “BREAKING: Death toll in deadly flooding of Derna city of Libya could reach 20,000: Mayor.”
BREAKING: Death toll in deadly flooding of Derna city of Libya could reach 20,000: Mayor
— World Times (@WorldTimesWT) September 14, 2023
📽️@youdha_akhilesh
#درنه #Libya #Derna #LibyaFloods #DernaFloods #انقذوا_الشرق_الليبي #ليبيا_تستغيث pic.twitter.com/nhPNWcHMRm
The Real Story
This old video was shot during the Japan landslide incident, in which 300 homes were affected, resulting in two deaths and leaving 20 individuals missing. You can find further information about the Japan landslide in an article by www.thesun.co.uk [archive]. Importantly, this video has no relevance to the recent floods in Libya.
The Current Deadly Libya Flood
The recent floods in Derna, eastern Libya, have indeed been fatal. Reports suggest that at least 3,958 people lost their lives, with over 9,000 others still missing. These floods reached their peak in northeastern Libya, accompanied by powerful winds reaching speeds of up to 80 km per hour. This climatic turmoil disrupted communications, toppled electricity towers, and uprooted trees. Many social media users saw it as a golden opportunity to share the old landslide video from Japan because of the same scale of destruction.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we at D-Intent Data pray for the families and friends of people who lost their loved ones in these tragic events. We also request everyone not to share this old video from the Japan landslide, and create panic among the victims. Following thorough analysis and fact-checking, our team has investigated the claim. You can refer to the findings of this inquiry in the Twitter thread embedded below.
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— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) September 15, 2023
ANALYSIS: Misleading
FACT: A horrific, devastating video of a natural disaster has been shared that shows the torrent of mud and water surging through a street sweeping away everything in its path. This incident is not from #Libya as claimed, but from Japan. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/kMF1zgK3Wl
Claim: The devastating video of a natural disaster is from the recent floods in Libya.
Fact: The video is an old one from Atami, Japan, showing a landslide that occurred in 2021
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