Viral Video Claiming Bangkok Earthquake Aftermath Is AI-Generated

However, BOOM found that the video was created by an AI visual effects artist and has been online since January 8, 2025.

Myanmar was struck by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake on March 28, 2025, with its epicenter near Mandalay. The quake has claimed over 2,700 lives, severely damaging infrastructure, including the city’s airport. In Thailand, the earthquake's aftershocks have resulted in the deaths of six people, with 100 workers reported missing.

In Bangkok, the earthquake caused the collapse of a 30-storey building under construction, with many workers feared trapped inside.

The misleading viral video shows a massive cloud of water rising from the sea and moving towards residential buildings, falsely portraying the situation in Bangkok.

A Facebook user shared the video, captioning it in Hindi, "Heartbreaking video of earthquake in Bangkok."

To verify the authenticity of the viral video, we conducted a reverse image search on key frames from the footage. This search led us to the original video on Instagram, dated January 8, 2025, with the caption: "Volcanic eruption off the coast of Italy."

In addition to the reverse image search, we used AI detection tools to assess the video’s authenticity.

Using the Hive Moderation AI detector, we found a 99.9% probability that the video was AI-generated.