Old videos falsely claim to show aftermath of Alaska earthquake, tsunami warning

On July 15, a 7.2 magnitude earthquake triggered a brief tsunami warning for southern Alaska. 

The earthquake was felt widely throughout the Aleutian Islands, the Alaskan Peninsula and Cook Inlet regions, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. The tsunami warning was later dropped to an advisory before being canceled about an hour after it was issued.

Soon after news of the earthquake broke, footage claiming to be from Alaska was shared on social media. VERIFY fact-checked whether these three viral videos show scenes from the July 15 earthquake.

QUESTION #1

Does this video show tsunami sirens going off in Kodiak during the July 15 tsunami warning?

THE SOURCES

• InVid and RevEye, footage forensics tools
• Video from July 2021

ANSWER #1

No, the video was not taken during the July 15 tsunami warning. It’s from 2021.

WHAT WE FOUND

While the Associated Press did report tsunami warning sirens were blared across towns in Alaska after the July 15 earthquake, this video was not taken during this earthquake. It was actually taken in July 2021.

Using InVid, a video forensics tool, VERIFY analyzed the keyframes of the viral video and conducted a reverse image search of the frames. VERIFY was able to trace the video to TikTok, posted on July 29, following an 8.2 magnitude earthquake that struck off the Alaskan Peninsula. 

According to reports at the time, the tsunami warning sirens were broadcast across Kodiak, an island with a population of about 6,000 people, along Alaska's coastline. 

QUESTION #2

Does this video show various news reports from the July 15 earthquake?

 “Report on the #Alaska #earthquake this morning,” the tweet with more than 100,000 views says. The video is an Inside Edition clip showing multiple scenes of damage across Alaska.

THE SOURCES

• InVid and RevEye, footage forensics tools
• Original Inside Edition video from November 2018
• United States Geological Survey

ANSWER #2

No, the video was not taken after the July 15 earthquake. It was taken in 2018 after a different earthquake hit Alaska.

WHAT WE FOUND

This video was taken in Alaska, but not after the July 15, 2023 earthquake. 

VERIFY also used InVid and RevEye to trace this video to the original one posted by Inside Edition on Nov. 30, 2018.

At the 12-second mark of the original video from Inside Edition, the same airport scene matches what could be seen at the start of the viral clip posted on July 16. 

According to the United States Geological Survey, on Nov. 30, 2018, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake struck north of Anchorage. There were more than 15,000 reports from citizens who experienced shaking from the earthquake. 

This is not the first time this Twitter account, @cbknews121, has posted false information. In June, the account posted a video claiming to show authentic proof of aliens in a Las Vegas community. That video wasn’t real.

QUESTION #3

Does this video from a home security camera show a father gathering his kids amid the July 15 earthquake in Alaska?

The video has racked up more than 300,000 views on Twitter. 

THE SOURCES

• InVid and RevEye, footage forensics tools
• Original video from November 2018

ANSWER #3

No, the video was not taken after the July 15 earthquake. It is from the November 2018 earthquake in Alaska.

WHAT WE FOUND

This video, also posted from the same Twitter account @cbknews121, was not taken during the July 15 earthquake. It was posted on November 30, 2018, following the 7.1 magnitude earthquake north of Anchorage.

The video was posted to YouTube by video licensing company ViralHog on Dec. 1, 2018. VERIFY used InVid and RevEye to trace the origin of this video, as well.

“Security camera footage our family going through the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. The violent shaking caused a lot of chaos. It also caused Dad to go in parent mode, scooping his daughter up quickly,” the caption of the video said.

So, we can VERIFY these videos were not taken following the July 15 earthquake.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.