FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show The Recent Earthquake In Indonesia?

Mecca FowlerDecember 15, 2021

A viral video shared on Facebook purportedly shows the inside of a home during the recent earthquake in Indonesia.

Verdict: False

The video shows an earthquake in Alaska in 2018.

Fact Check:

The U.S. Geological Survey on Tuesday reported a magnitude 7.3 earthquake striking underwater near Flores Island in Indonesia. A tsunami alert for the area was issued and later lifted by authorities, according to the Associated Press.

One video allegedly showing the inside of a house being violently shaken by the recent Indonesian earthquake has garnered over 61,000 views since being posted yesterday. A reverse image search of key frames from the footage, however, revealed it is unrelated to Tuesday’s earthquake in Indonesia.

The same footage was posted by a man named James Easton in late November 2018 on Twitter, where he indicated it showed an earthquake in Alaska. In the tweet’s comments, as various news outlets asked to use his footage, Easton confirmed he took the video.

#akearthquake #Earthquake [email protected] just a little bit shaken this morning. pic.twitter.com/IdVpcqdVI1

— James Easton (@JamesEastonCFO) November 30, 2018

News outlets such as KING 5 and KTOO shared Easton’s footage on their YouTube channels on Nov. 30, 2018. According to the titles of those videos, it depicts a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck north of Anchorage, Alaska, on that day.

The 2018 Alaskan earthquake was felt up to 400 miles away from where it occurred, according to CNN. It caused significant infrastructure damage, including to buildings, roads and power lines, NBC News reported at the time. (RELATED: No, This Video Does Not Show Flooding From China’s Three Gorges Dam)

Earlier this month, Indonesia’s Mount Semeru erupted, causing damage to nearby villages and killing dozens of people, according to the NASA Earth Observatory. That natural disaster also sparked a false claim that Check Your Fact debunked.