Last updated on July 8th, 2026
Editor's Notes
A viral video allegedly showing two buildings collapsing in Venezuela’s June 24 earthquakes has racked up millions of views across platforms like X, TikTok, and Facebook, and has circulated in multiple languages. Its rapid, widespread circulation has distorted public perception of the real disaster and disrupted official information channels. Rigorous fact-checking is therefore urgently needed to correct misinformation and safeguard the credibility of emergency public communications.
Claim
On June 25, 2026, X user @umerpashtoon published a post featuring a video that depicts two buildings shaking, tilting forward, and collapsing beneath massive dust clouds. The Urdu caption translates to: “A few seconds of earthquake in Venezuela has caused devastation. Oh God, how terrifying will the Day of Judgment be.“ The post garnered over 5 million views and more than 15,000 engagements.
Fact Check
1. Source Tracing
Reverse frame searches of key segments from the video found that the earliest highly matching footage within the searched scope was published on YouTube on October 6, 2024, by user @İnanılmazBilgiler-p5k. The Turkish caption translates to “Earthquake destroys the city”. However, neither did this video not claim to document a real-world event, nor did it provide any location details.
Further verification showed that the same video was shared on TikTok on February 14, 2025, by user @jeofizikmuhendisi, whose Turkish caption title labeled it as an “earthquake animation,” indicating that the video was not an actual recording of a real earthquake.
2. Visual Analysis
Analysis of the footage identified multiple visual features inconsistent with real-world structural collapse:
1）Abnormal floor-by-floor displacement:
The two buildings collapse in a stacked, layer-by-layer motion, resembling piled blocks more than actual high-rise structures under seismic failure.
2）Unrealistic rooftop rigidity:
The rooftops remain perfectly flat throughout the tilt, showing no deformation or structural shedding—consistent with a single rigid slab, not real building materials under load-bearing failure.
3）Absence of Interior Residential Features:
After an exterior wall on the left building falls away, the interior appears entirely empty, with no partition walls, floor support components, or furniture visible — details expected in any real residential structure.
4）The Blurred Vehicle with no Identifiable Markings:
A vehicle resembling a police car is present in the scene, but its outline is indistinct, and it lacks a license plate or identifiable markings—consistent with generic AI-generated rendering. Other blurred vehicles can be seen behind it, though no road or pavement is visible.
5）The footage exhibits clear signs of patterned distortion:
The camera motion consists of highly regular, uniform-amplitude, repetitive side-to-side oscillations, which are fundamentally inconsistent with the random, irregular tremors characteristic of actual seismic activity.
3. AI Detection Tool Analysis
AI detection tools Hive Moderation and SynthID Detector assessed the video and returned confidence scores of 94.3% and 92.2%, respectively, indicating AI‑generated content. These findings align with the visual analysis and reinforce the conclusion that the footage is not real.
4. Official Source Verification
A reverse image search of key frames did not identify any matching footage from authoritative news outlets, government agencies, or verified eyewitness recordings. No credible reporting or official visual documentation was found to support the claim that this video depicts the June 2026 Venezuela earthquake.
5. Visual Comparison with the Game Teardown
The architecture and destruction effects shown in the viral clip are visually similar to footage from Teardown, a physics-based demolition game developed by Tuxedo Labs and released in 2022. TikTok already hosts many game recordings with comparable visual styles.
No evidence has been found linking the viral video to authentic footage from any real earthquake. However, its visual characteristics closely resemble existing game-based destruction imagery. Given that Teardown footage predates the viral claim and that the game engine can produce highly realistic building-collapse effects, it is possible that game-like source material was used in creating the clip.
6. Dissemination Analysis
1) Initial Dissemination (October 2024 – February 2025)
The earliest traceable instance identified in this verification originated on YouTube on October 6, 2024, with the caption “Earthquake destroys the city.” The uploader made no assertion that the footage depicted real events and provided no geolocation information. On February 14, 2025, the same video was reposted to TikTok under the label “earthquake animation,” which indicated the content was fictional.
2) The Footage Referenced Alongside Real Earthquakes Events Worldwide (December 2024–July 2025)
On December 18, 2024, TikTok user @disasters1big1 linked the video to the 7.4 Vanuatu earthquake with the caption “Vanuatu earthquake today,” marking the first misattribution to a real event. On February 11, 2025, Facebook user @JoJo Liew labeled it with “8.2 earthquake in the Cayman Islands.” On March 28, 2025, Instagram user @soytemizihsan described it as footage of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand. In July 2025, it was again linked to 7.3 Alaska earthquake, which was debunked by Myanmar fact-checking outlet Fact Crescendo.
3) Recirculation Following Venezuela Earthquakes (June 2026)
On June 24, 2026, the day after two strong earthquakes in Venezuela, X user @umerpashtoon was the first to post the video in this new context. The post received more than 5 million views and was later reposted across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. It circulated in English, Urdu, Persian, Assamese, Chinese, and other languages. These posts broadly described it as showing the “Venezuela earthquake,” without identifying any specific location.
Background
On June 24, 2026, two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck near Yaracuy state in northern Venezuela within the span of one minute. According to an Associated Press report published on July 2, official figures as of July 1 said the twin earthquakes had killed 2,295 people. Large numbers of people were injured or displaced, and rescue operations were still underway. In heavily affected areas such as La Guaira, numerous buildings collapsed, and survivors were still being pulled from the rubble.
Verdict
AI-generated.
Conclusion
Verification shows the viral video is not authentic footage of the June 24, 2026, Venezuela earthquake. The earliest iteration of the clip dates to October 6, 2024, on YouTube, and was explicitly labeled as an “earthquake animation” on TikTok in February 2025. Visual analysis reveals numerous physical anomalies, such as abnormal floor sliding and hollow building interiors. Furthermore, the destruction physics and architectural rendering closely match the video game Teardown by Tuxedo Labs. No authoritative media or official sources have verified the footage. Fact Hunter advises the public to exercise caution and cross-reference information during major disaster events.
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
Reference:
https://x.com/umerpashtoon/status/2070127480216932639?s=46
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Nn31h0xvO2U
https://apnews.com/article/venezuela-earthquake-rescue-delcy-rodriguez-7e9964076f51a68d656f5727551f1f72
https://www.usgs.gov/programs/landslide-hazards/science/2026-venezuela-sequence-earthquake-triggered-landslide-hazards
https://fb.watch/I6Th3zfIc7/
https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1Kum325QZe/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaBQ5ZvMSXS/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ==
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1567754154870787/
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bma7PWX4rbc、
https://x.com/god77774/status/2070236906324107497?s=20
https://www.gettyimages.co.jp/detail/%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E5%86%99%E7%9C%9F/members-of-the-bolivarian-national-police-stand-guard-as-a-%E3%83%8B%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B9%E5%86%99%E7%9C%9F/2256558160
