Fact Check: Misleading video collage combines floods in China and Spain

By Jyoti Dwivedi:

China's capital, Beijing, recently experienced record-breaking rainfall due to Typhoon Doksuri, resulting in devastating floods and the loss of at least 21 lives. While the situation remains dire, a video collage purportedly showing flood in China has gone viral.

The video collage comprises two parts: the first shows cars being swept away by floodwaters, with individuals clinging to the roofs for their lives. The second part shows cars floating in a massive water body.

A Twitter user posted the video and wrote, "Life & death moment in #China." An archived version of this post can be seen here.

India Today found that while the second part of the video indeed shows the floods in China, however, the first part is not related to the current situation. Instead, it was filmed during the floods in Spain in early July 2023.

Our Probe

Several concerned social media users reacting to the viral post raised doubts about the video's authenticity, questioning whether it genuinely depicted the floods in China.

We conducted a reverse search of the first part of the video's keyframes, and found it on YouTube where users had shared it in the context of floods in Spain during early July.

Where did this happen?

On further examination with keyword searches, we came across media reports from July, 2023, featuring the viral video. The reports explicitly mentioned that the visuals depicted the flash floods in Zaragoza, Spain.

Several Spanish language media outlets also shared this video in early July, adding to its widespread circulation.

Some visuals of the recent floods in China can be seen here.

Thus, it is clearly established that the video collage circulating on social media, while featuring genuine footage of the floods in China in its second part, also included an unrelated video of the flash floods in Spain from early July 2023.