Footage of a fire incident with captions claiming to be a recent incident is circulating widely on social media with little context. Our fact check reveals that the video actually shows a major fire in a clothing market in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in April 2023, not a recent or ongoing incident.
Social Media Posts
A viral captioned post reads “BREAKING NEWS Just hours ago, a tremendous fire broke out in… See more”, accompanied by images of the fire incident. These posts often include suspicious news links in the comment section.
These posts were widely shared among English-speaking users as well as other language users, and below is an instance where Sinhala (Sri Lankan) readers had assumed the footage related to a recent fire that happened in China, near the China-Myanmar border.
Below is another instance of the same post.
Fact Check
Using reverse image search, we found that the original video is from April 2023. The footage shows a fire at Bangabazar, one of Dhaka’s largest clothing markets, which destroyed thousands of shops.
According to Al Jazeera (4 April 2023), the fire engulfed the Bangabazar market, forcing evacuation and mobilising hundreds of firefighters. No immediate casualties were reported, but thousands of traders lost their livelihoods due to the blaze (Source).
Additionally, we noted that many of the viral posts contain external links in the comments section. Upon examination, these links redirect to advertising pages rather than legitimate news sources. This pattern suggests these posts may be designed to generate web traffic rather than provide accurate information.
Conclusion
The viral claims accompanying a video of a purported recent fire are misleading. The footage is from April 2023, when a massive fire broke out at Dhaka’s Bangabazar clothing market in Bangladesh. Current posts recycle old footage with misleading captions and spam links.
Title:Viral “Breaking News” Fire Video Shows 2023 Dhaka Market Blaze, Not Recent Incident
Fact Check By: Cielito WangResult: Misleading
