Earthquake Footage from Türkiye Falsely Circulated as Israeli Damage

Misleading footage purporting to show destruction in Tel Aviv following recent Middle East tensions has gone viral across social media platforms, an investigation has revealed.

The video, which depicts severely damaged buildings and infrastructure in an urban area, has been widely shared with captions claiming it shows the aftermath of Iranian strikes on Israel’s commercial capital. One viral post, which garnered over 900,000 views, stated: “Something very terrifying. Iran is taking revenge. Tel Aviv today has become a ghost city. Look at the scale of the massive destruction. What you did in Gaza has today reached your own home.”

However, fact-checkers have determined the footage actually shows the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that struck Türkiye’s Pazarcık district in February 2023. The 7.8-magnitude quake and its aftershocks killed more than 50,000 people across southern Türkiye and northern Syria, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in the region’s recent history.

This misattribution comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and Israel. In April 2024, Iran launched its first direct military attack against Israel, firing approximately 300 drones and missiles, most of which were intercepted by Israeli and allied defense systems. The actual damage in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities from these strikes was significantly less extensive than what the misleading video portrays.

The rapid spread of this misinformation highlights the increasingly complex information environment surrounding the Middle East conflict. Social media platforms have become battlegrounds for competing narratives, with users often sharing unverified content that aligns with their political viewpoints.

“During times of conflict, we typically see a surge in repurposed footage being shared out of context,” said Dr. Emma Reeves, a disinformation researcher at the Digital Media Institute. “The emotional impact of disaster footage makes it particularly effective for spreading misleading claims, as people are less likely to verify content that elicits a strong emotional response.”

The misrepresented earthquake footage has appeared across multiple platforms and in several languages, suggesting a coordinated effort to spread false information about the situation in Israel. Some posts have accumulated hundreds of thousands of shares and millions of views collectively.

This incident underscores the importance of critical media literacy during geopolitical crises. Experts recommend that social media users verify information through multiple reliable sources before sharing content, particularly during active conflicts when disinformation is rampant.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which intensified following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, has generated a flood of misleading content online. Both sides have accused each other of information warfare alongside conventional military operations.

Social media companies have faced criticism for their handling of false information related to the conflict. While most platforms have policies against deliberately misleading content, the sheer volume of posts and the complexity of geopolitical contexts make consistent enforcement challenging.

For people consuming news about the Middle East, experts suggest following established news organizations with correspondents on the ground, checking the timestamps on shared videos, and using reverse image search tools to verify the authenticity of visual content.

The earthquake in Türkiye that produced the actual footage was one of the most devastating natural disasters in recent years, causing estimated economic losses exceeding $100 billion and displacing millions of people. The misappropriation of this tragedy to fuel geopolitical narratives adds another dimension to an already complex information landscape surrounding the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.