After the earthquake struck Myanmar and Thailand last Friday, an image of a child appearing to be trapped under rubble was shared on social media. This led many users to believe that the child was found beneath the debris of a collapsed building following the earthquake. The image quickly gained attention and sparked strong reactions from social media users. However, Fact Crescendo has verified and confirmed that this claim is missing context.
Social Media Claim
A photo of a young child trapped in a narrow space has been widely circulated on social media, leading to further viral circulation among users.
Below is a screenshot from a social media platform featuring the caption “A million sympathies,” shared nearly 5,000 times by social media users today.
The widespread sharing of this image, coupled with the emotional caption, has contributed to the misleading narrative surrounding the child’s situation.
The above image, with the same claim that the girl was trapped under the collapsed building in Mandalay, Myanmar, was also found and shared virally on Threads recently.
Subsequently, another Facebook page shared the same image on social media, which was further reshared multiple times by Facebook users in Cambodia who believed the misleading claim.
Although the photo was posted without any caption, it evoked strong emotional reactions from social media users, who expressed sympathy and sorrow for the young child. Many mistakenly believed that the child had been found trapped under rubble following the earthquake that struck last Friday.
Below is an image sourced from another social media platform where the same photo was posted without any accompanying text. Despite the lack of context, it was shared nearly 3,000 times and received numerous comments, with most users assuming that the child was a victim of the recent earthquake.
A similar image, accompanied by the caption “The world is still silent when those eyes speak everything,” was also found and widely shared by another Facebook page.
The emotional caption contributed to further engagement, leading many users to share the image without verifying its actual context.
Given the claim’s extensive dissemination and the considerable attention it has received from the internet community, we believed it was necessary to perform a fact-check on the above subject.
Fact Check
Fact Crescendo has investigated and verified the above claim using Google Reverse Image Search and relevant keywords, leading to the following findings:
A 38-second video clip with a similar format and appearance was discovered on the social media platform TikTok, originally posted on October 26, 2024. The original uploader did not describe the video as showing a child trapped under rubble or being involved in any disaster-related incident.
Below is the original video, which predates the earthquake in Myanmar, further confirming that the viral claim is misleading.
The same user also shared another similar video, this time with a caption in Arabic that translates to: “Thank God, this little girl is happily playing. This was not filmed in Gaza; it was filmed in Syria. Please do not share the video claiming she is under attack. Thank God.” This indicates that the footage was taken out of context and misrepresented.
Below is another video clip that further confirms the girl was not trapped under rubble following the earthquake in Myanmar, reinforcing that the claim circulating on social media is misleading.
The full video provides clear context that contradicts the above claim. At no point does it show the young girl trapped under rubble or in distress. Instead, the original footage reveals that she is merely playing with a drainage hole, crawling in and out of it as part of a game. There are no visible signs of destruction, debris, or any connection to a natural disaster.
This context strongly indicates that the image circulating on social media has been taken out of context to mislead viewers into believing it is related to the recent earthquake.
A powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck central Myanmar near Mandalay on Friday, resulting in significant casualties and widespread destruction. The disaster claimed approximately 1,700 lives, left over 3,400 injured, and more than 300 individuals are reported missing. The tremors were felt across the region, including in neighboring Thailand, where they caused notable damage and loss of life.
Below is the full report from the international news outlet CNN, which was published last Friday.
CNN News Report | Archived Link
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Conclusion
Fact Crescendo found that the above-mentioned claim is missing context. The original video was discovered in Syria in October 2024 and shows a young girl playing with a drainage hole. This video has no connection to the recent earthquake that occurred in Myanmar and Thailand.
Title:Viral Image of Trapped Child Not Related to Myanmar Earthquake
Written By: Kakada SimResult: Missing Context
