Last updated on June 25th, 2026
Editor's Note
On June 8, 2026, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Mindanao, Philippines. In the aftermath, videos labeled as “earthquake footage” went viral across X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms. According to incomplete statistics, the two videos examined in this report alone have accumulated over 3.5 million views and more than 27,100 interactions across these platforms. Amid heightened public concern over the disaster, such clips circulated across multiple platforms and languages, hindering the spread of reliable information about the situation on the ground. Fact Hunter has evaluated the veracity of these videos across three dimensions — video source tracing, visual feature comparison, and on-the-ground verification — to uncover the truth.
Claims
- On June 8, 2026, X user @Joshtve_ posted a 19-second video showing a university classroom ceiling collapsing while students were shielding themselves with chairs. The Spanish-language caption claimed the video showed the scene of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Polomolok, South Cotabato, Philippines. The post garnered over 640,000 views and more than 4,000 likes.
- On June 8, 2026, X user @mlqbnmmd3 posted a 16-second video showing two high-rise buildings swaying sideways, with structural components detaching from their connecting bridge. The Arabic caption read: “In the 7.8-magnitude earthquake in the Philippines, a section connecting two tall buildings detached,” with identical Arabic text overlaid on the video. The video received over 470,000 views.
Fact Check
1. The Video of Classroom Ceiling Collapse
1) Source Analysis
A reverse image search of video keyframes revealed that the 19-second video posted by X user @Joshtve_ is identical to a segment (00:13 to 00:32) of a video published by the Philippine news outlet NewsWatchPlus on TikTok on October 10, 2025. The original video identified the location as Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao, stating it was triggered by a magnitude 7.4 earthquake that struck the southern waters of the Philippines on October 10, 2025. The BBC also reported on this earthquake at the time.
On the same day, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS) issued a statement that a magnitude 7.4 major earthquake struck eastern Davao and its surrounding provinces, with the epicenter located 48 kilometers northeast of Mati and an estimated focal depth of 23 kilometers.
2) Event Cross-Verification
Keyword searches showed that GMA News, a major Philippine broadcaster, covered the ceiling collapse under the headline: “Ceiling falls as Davao City students shield selves with chairs,” which featured two on-site videos posted on Facebook by its regional station, One Mindanao.
Visual comparisons of key elements confirm that the video posted by X user @Joshtve_ and the GMA News footage depict the same event filmed from different angles. The two videos share highly matching environmental details, including the design of the black chairs, ceiling structures, lighting layout, and wall decorations. Furthermore, critical dynamic moments—such as students shielding themselves with chairs and the exact moment of the ceiling collapse—align perfectly, confirming that both videos originate from the same source event.
3) Current Status of the College
On June 8, 2026, the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) website published a statement from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. declaring the suspension of classes at all levels in the earthquake-affected areas of Mindanao. On the same day, the official Facebook page of Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao announced the suspension of all onsite and online classes.
While Polomolok town in South Cotabato, mentioned in the caption, was indeed affected by the June 8 earthquake, as of review, no authoritative reports or official statements have confirmed any structural damage to the school building during this earthquake, nor has any corroborating on-site footage emerged.
2. The Video of the High-Rise Building's Skybridge Detachment
1) Source Analysis
A reverse search of video keyframes revealed that the video posted by X user @mlqbnmmd3 is identical to a 16-second video uploaded by Instagram user @theb1m on March 30, 2025. The Instagram post’s caption described the skybridge of the Park Origin towers in Bangkok detaching when waves from a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar reached the city. The caption also explained the seismic design principles of skybridges in high-rise buildings located in earthquake zones.
2) Event Cross-Verification
Keyword searches based on the original video’s context led to an on-site failure investigation report published on May 18, 2025, by Thornton Tomasetti, an international structural engineering firm. The report, which analyzed the Park Origin Thonglor complex in Bangkok, documented the skybridge layout connecting the three towers and noted that the earthquake caused the end connections of the K-truss system of the skybridge connecting Tower B (53rd floor) and Tower C (59th floor) to fail, resulting in missing top and bottom chords.
CNN also reported on the incident on March 28, 2025, stating that a magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Myanmar was felt in Bangkok, Thailand, causing damage to several high-rise buildings. The photos accompanying the CNN report closely match the damaged skybridge of the Park Origin building depicted in the viral video.
3) Current Situation in Thailand
Upon verification, the Thai Meteorological Department issued a statement on the day of the earthquake (June 8, 2026) confirming that the earthquake in the Philippines would not affect Thailand. Additionally, the official website of Origin Thailand, the property developer, contained no announcements regarding any impact of the Philippine earthquake on the Park Origin Thonglor complex. As of June 16, 2026, the developer’s official website listed units at the Park Origin Thonglor project as available for normal sales and rental.
3. Dissemination
Following the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in the Philippines on June 8, 2026, the two videos rapidly spread across multiple social media platforms, including X, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Related posts circulated in various languages, including English, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, and Serbian, frequently using high-search-volume keywords such as “magnitude 7.8 earthquake,” “live on-scene,” and “breaking news.” Amid heightened public concern over the sudden disaster, these videos gained substantial cross-platform and cross-lingual exposure.
Background
At 07:37 AM local time on June 8, 2026, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck approximately 32 kilometers west of Maasim, Sarangani Province, Mindanao, Philippines, at a depth of 10 kilometers. As of June 9, the earthquake had left 488 people injured and 4 missing, affecting 163 barangays (villages) across Regions 9, 11, 12, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), impacting 145,693 individuals from 32,926 families.
Verdict
Out of Context.
Conclusion
Neither of the two videos claiming to document the June 2026 Mindanao earthquake depicts authentic footage from the event. The classroom ceiling collapse video was filmed on October 10, 2025, at Mapúa Malayan Colleges Mindanao during a magnitude 7.4 earthquake in southern Philippines — and has been incorrectly linked to the current disaster. The sky bridge collapse video was filmed on March 28, 2025, at the Park Origin Thonglor complex in Bangkok, Thailand, when tremors from Myanmar’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake reached the city — and bears no connection to the Philippines earthquake.
When encountering disaster-related videos, the public is urged to exercise caution, verify sources through multiple channels, and refrain from sharing unverified content.
Have a questionable video or claim? Submit it to Fact Hunter’s investigation team at [therealfacthunter@outlook.com].
Primary Fact Checker: Liu Yantong
Secondary Fact Checker: Lei Ting
