Fact check: Building demolition video from Saudi Arabia, not earthquake in Turkey

Kate S. Petersen, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: Video shows building destroyed by earthquake in Turkey

A Feb. 7 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) features two side-by-side clips: one shows a building collapsing while the other shows a woman seemingly reacting to the collapse of the building.

"Pray for Turkey," reads on-screen text in the video.

The video was shared more than 80 times in two days.

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Our rating: False

The video was posted online prior to the Feb. 6 earthquake in Turkey and Syria. It appears to show a building demolition in Saudi Arabia.

Video shows building demolition in Saudi Arabia

The death toll from deadly earthquakes that hit Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6 has now risen to over 21,000, USA TODAY reported. However, the footage in the Facebook video has nothing to do with that event.

The video was posted on Twitter and TikTok weeks before the earthquake and was captured in Jeddah, Saudia Arabia, according to Reuters.

The TikTok's title, written in Arabic, translates to "Jeddah Cleo 3 Old Mecca Road" in Google Translate, which roughly matches the name of a building visible in a 2017 Google Maps street view image in Jeddah. The collapsing building and unaffected building next to it are also consistent with the ones seen in the video.

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The Saudi Arabian government has been demolishing dozens of neighborhoods in Jeddah to enable redevelopment in a move that has been condemned as violating human rights standards, according to Reuters.

Since the earthquake occurred, USA TODAY has debunked multiple videos and photos falsely linked to the disaster. For instance, some social media users claimed a stock photo of a dog and footage of an Indonesian tsunami were related to the recent earthquake.

USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment.

The video was also debunked by Reuters and Associated Press.

Our fact-check sources:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: Video shows building collapse in Saudia Arabia, not Turkey