Fact check: Mass extinction caskets are a myth. Video shows burial vaults.

Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Video shows 'death caskets' for prepared mass extinction

An April 9 Facebook video shows a man identified as Dave Bohannon speaking about what he found on the side of the road one day in 2000 in Madison, Georgia. Footage of numerous piles of black boxes is shown.

"They have been preparing for Mass Extinction with these Death Caskets," reads on-screen text.

The post garnered more than 500 shares in 10 days. The original TikTok has been deleted.

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Our rating: False

The video shows burial vaults sold by a company that creates funeral products. The vaults are used to protect coffins going underground and are sold to those who want to prearrange their funeral.

Video shows burial vaults for prearranged funerals

The video has circulated on the internet since at least 2008 when YouTube users claimed it showed coffins at a camp owned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones also spread this theory on his show, Infowars.

At the time, Madison outlet Morgan County Citizen published an article debunking the conspiracy theories circulating around the video.

Michael Lacey, the then-vice president of operations at Vantage Products Corporation, told the outlet the videos show the company's burial vaults, which are "placed in the ground before the coffin to protect the coffin and maintain level ground above."

Vantage Products did not reply to USA TODAY's request for comment.

He said the videos show the company's black Standard Air Seal model, which is the least expensive and most in-demand model. The stacks of burial vaults seen in the video are for those who prearranged their funerals before their death, meaning they're paid for but not yet being used, according to Lacey.

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Google Earth's Historical Imagery shows similar piles of vaults in 2008 across the company property, which was then located at 1200 Madison Industrial Boulevard.

The plot of land no longer houses the vaults, according to recent images on Google Earth, and they can now be seen at the company's new location in Covington, Georgia.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post but did not immediately get a response.

PolitiFact and Lead Stories also debunked this claim

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: No, video doesn't show coffins for mass extinction