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Old Video And Photos Of Explosions Falsely Shared As Recent Karachi Blast
Writer: Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
India, 21 Dec 2021 11:09 AM GMT
Editor : Bharat Nayak |
As the founding editor, Bharat had been heading the newsroom during the formation years of the organization and worked towards editorial policies, conceptualizing and designing campaign strategies and collaborations. He believes that through the use of digital media, one could engage the millennial's in rational conversations about pertinent social issues, provoking them to think and bring a behavioral change accordingly.
Creatives : Jakir Hassan
A journalist at heart loves the in-depth work of reporting, writing, editing, research, and data analysis. A digital and social media enthusiast.
In our investigation, we found that the viral video and images are of different incidents and falsely linked with the recent Karachi blast.
On 08 December 2021, Pakistan was again shaken by a blast. Karachi witnessed an explosion in which 15 people died, and at least 16 people were severely injured. According to the report, the explosion took place in a sewage system in the Parcha Chowk area of Sher Shah Village in Karachi. According to Pakistani media reports, SHO Zafar Ali Shah said that 'the explosion that took place in a drain located under a private bank could have been caused by a gas leak. In the same backdrop, a set of images and a video is viral on social media claiming as the footage of a recent blast that happened in Karachi.
A video was circulated on social media claiming as visuals of the recent Karachi blast. While sharing the video, a Twitter user wrote a caption in English that reads, "Massive #KarachiBlast today evening casualty increased to 21 and several injured #Pakistan #Karachi #terroristattack."
Another user wrote a caption in English that reads, A bone-chilling explosion in Karachi's #Shershaah Chowk occurred in today's evening. Casualty increased to 21 and several injured. #Pakistan #KarachiBlast #Karachi."
People on social media shared two pictures claiming as the images taken after the blast. In the first picture, a man is seen running on the road around which some vehicles are burning. In the second picture, a burqa-clad woman can be seen crying with a few other women in the background. A Twitter user, while sharing this image, wrote a caption in English that reads, "#Pakistan paying heavy price for its inability to deal with #Terrorism. Just now, A bomb blast took place near Sher Shah Paracha Chowk in #Karachi. Approx. 20 people Killed & there may be heavy casualties. ISIS May b behind the attacks. Shame on Pakistan. #ImranKhan #KarachiBlast."
Another user also shared these images with a similar claim. Click here, here and here to view.
Claim:
Video and Images show recent visuals of the Karachi blast.
Fact Check:
The Logical Indian Fact Check team verified the claim and found it to be false. Viral videos and images are of different incidents and not of the recent Karachi blast.
Video:
We extracted different keyframes of the shared video using the InVid tool and conducted a google reverse image search. We found the viral video in a report of BBC dated 05 August 2020. The title of the report reads in English, "Beirut blast: Lebanon in mourning after massive explosion - Top stories this morning - BBC." At 2 minutes 09 seconds of the time stamp, we can see the similar footage as viral on social media.
At that time, The Logical Indian also reported this incident. According to the report, on 05 August 2020, about 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored in the Beirut port warehouse exploded, claiming at least 78 lives, injuring over 4000 and damaging distant buildings. A tweet was also embedded in the story in which we can the similar footage as seen in the viral video.
Image 1:
On doing a google reverse image search, we found this image in a report of Australian Network News dated 29 September 2013. The title of the report reads, "Death toll rises in Pakistan market bombing." According to the report, the viral picture is after the blast in Peshawar, Pakistan on 29 September 2013, in which more than 42 people died. The caption of the image reads, "A Pakistani man runs past burning vehicles at the site of a bomb explosion in the busy Kissa Khwani market in Peshawar". The credit of this image was given to Hasham Ahmed of AFP.
We also find this image in a photo gallery of Radio Free Europe and in several international media reports.
Image 2:
On doing a google reverse image search, we found this image in several international media reports. According to the report of The Sun dated July 2016, The report was about a suicide bombing in Iraq's capital Baghdad. About 150 people lost their lives and more than 200 were wounded in this blast on 3 July 2016. The attack was carried out by the terrorist organization ISIS. The attack was carried out in the evening when a refrigerator truck packed with explosives blew up in the crowded Karrada area of Baghdad. This report carries many images of explosions day along with the viral image.
We also find this image in a report of BBC dated 04 July 2016. According to the report, It was believed to be the deadliest single bomb attack in Iraq since 2007.
It is evident from our investigation that the old videos and images of different explosions which are years old were falsely shared as a recent explosion in Karachi. Hence, the viral claim is false.
If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.
Also Read: Video Of Clash Between Supporters Of Two BJP Leaders Viral With False Claim
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