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The misleading video was misrepresented as footage from Russia using AI-generated video from the tsunami and clips of collapse of a Turkish apartment building
Claim: The video shows a huge tsunami and collapsed building following the July 2025 earthquake in Russia.
evaluation: error
Why did we fact-check this: The video has already received 3.7 million views, 28,800 responses, 2,200 shares and 623 comments at the time of writing. It was posted on July 30th. On the same day, a powerful 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck the eastern coast of Kamchatka, Russia.
This video shows a huge tsunami approaching the coast towards a large crowd. Another clip shows the collapsed building. The text in the video reads, “Today's Tsunami Earthquake in Kamchatka Russia. July 30, 2025.”
Several social media users believed the video portrayed the impact of the recent earthquake. A Facebook user wrote in the comments section:[Diyos] Ilayo Po Sakuna ang yong mga nilalang at nanalig seo. Ingatan Maud An Aming Bangsa Pilipinas at Bigyan Mo Pond Matthibai Na Panang Palathaya Sayo. ”
(God, protect your people from disasters. Lord, protect our nation, the Philippines, and burn us with faith in you.)
fact: Although clips of the tsunami are generated by AI, footage of the collapsed buildings came from Turkey, not Russia.
AI video detector Hive Moderation has flagged tsunami video as 99.8% likely to contain AI generation or deep-fark content. AI Image Detector Decopy AI also detected screenshots from 100% AI generated videos.
Contrary to the claims, footage of the collapsed building was not captured in Russia. This was recorded in Turkey in February 2023 following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake caused by the original magnitude 7.8 earthquake. The original video shows the rest of the apartment being demolished in controlled operations.
Reuters previously uncovered similar claims linking video of the collapsed building to the September 2023 Morocco earthquake.
Accounts that posted the misleading video on Facebook did not have a disclaimer indicating that tsunami footage was generated using AI tools. It also did not mention the original location of the collapsed building that mislead some social media users.
Russia earthquake, tsunami: On July 30, a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck on the eastern coast of Kamchatka, Russia, causing an international tsunami warning in a country in the Pacific region.
Most tsunami alerts in Hawaii, Japan and Russia were knocked down later that night. Tsunamis are not as devastating as feared, and experts cited the effectiveness of tsunami warning systems. Independent seismic scientist Amilcar Carrera-Cevallos told Scientific American that “tsunami energy is not symmetrically distributed” when tsunami-generating Quake occurs.
The Russian earthquake is considered one of the most powerful ever recorded, bringing memories of the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Previous Fact Check: Rappler previously uncovered similar claims about earthquakes and tsunamis.
– Angele Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com
Angelie Kay Abelinde is a student journalist and a graduate of Rappler based in Naga City. Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024.
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