A video of heavily damaged buildings has been viewed more than a hundred thousand times online alongside a claim it shows the "situation in Ukraine" as a civilian disaster is growing in the country following Russia's invasion. But the video has been shared in a false context: it shows the aftermath of a cataclysmic port blast in Lebanon that levelled entire neighbourhoods in the capital Beirut in August 2020.
The video was shared here on Facebook on February 28, 2022. It has been viewed over 180,000 times.
The clip shows streets of razed buildings near a port while a thick column of smoke billows in the distance.
Its Burmese-language caption translates as: "The situation in Ukraine is all ashes and rubble. There are many dead bodies among the debris."
Screenshot taken on March 2, 2022 of the false post A civilian disaster is growing in Ukraine following Russia's invasion as new shelling and attacks have sent soaring numbers of refugees fleeing, sometimes under fire.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands wounded.
AFP reported on the developments here.
The video was also shared with a similar claim in Facebook posts here, here and here.
In reality, the video was filmed in Lebanon in 2020 -- not Ukraine in 2022 as the posts claim.
Reverse image searches of keyframes on Google found the video was posted by British charity organisation Medical Aid for Palestinians on YouTube on August 5, 2020.
The video's caption reads in part: "Beirut is a scene of utter devastation today in the aftermath of a massive explosion at Karantina sea port that sent shock waves across Lebanon's capital yesterday afternoon."
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A blast in Beirut's port thundered through the Lebanese capital on August 4, 2020, AFP reported.
The explosion levelled entire neighbourhoods, killed more than 200 people, wounded 6,500 others and pummelled the lives of survivors.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in the false post (left) and the YouTube video (right).
The video corresponds to this AFP photo of Beirut's harbour after the blast.
The AFP photo's caption reads: "A picture taken on August 25, 2020, shows the damaged grain silos amid the destruction at Beirut's harbour, in the aftermath of the monster explosion at the port which ravaged swathes of the capital in early August."
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video (left) with the AFP photo (right).
The video also corresponds to this photo geotagged at the port of Beirut on Google Maps.
Below shows screenshot comparisons of the video (left) with the image from Google Maps (right).
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has prompted a spike in online misinformation. AFP has debunked multiple other claims here.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by BOOM staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
