2022 video from Morocco shared as building collapsing in recent earthquake

More than 2,000 people have been reportedly killed in a recent earthquake that struck central Morocco and surrounding regions with a magnitude of 6.8 on September 8, 2023. BBC News reported that the violent tremors were felt in the cities of Casablanca and Marrakesh, where several buildings were destroyed and damaged.

Following this, numerous posts on social media falsely claim to show images and videos captured during the recent earthquake. 

What is the claim?

One video circulating on social media shows a building collapsing, as people run away. Posts claim that the clip was captured during the recent earthquake in Morocco.

Screenshot of a claim made online. (Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

However, the video is old and unrelated to the recent earthquake in Morocco. 

What are the facts?

A reverse image search of a screenshot taken from the viral clip initially led us to a Facebook video posted by an account named “L7AR Tv ” on December 27, 2022. The caption reads, “The moment a house collapsed in Derb Moulay Sharif. There is no power nor strength except in god.” The building structure matches that seen in the viral video. Derb Moulay Cherif is a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco.

Comparison between the viral clip and 2022 video. (Source: X, Facebook/Screenshot)

The same video was also uploaded to the YouTube channel Hibapress on the same date. The video description, written in Arabic, roughly translates to, “The moment a house collapsed in Derb Moulay Cherif and a citizen survived.” 

A news report published by report from assahraa.ma, on December 27, 2022, stated that there were no human casualties from the accident, as the area was already under a security alert. It quoted an elected official from the region stating, "Derb Moulay Cherif has 112 homes at risk of collapse. They have been completely evacuated, but they still pose a danger, especially the homes located between the Al-Taqaddum and Al-Kadiya areas.” The report also added that a governmental program of demolishing houses in danger of collapsing was implemented and falls within the city council's jurisdiction and currently has an amount worth 23 million dirhams to carry out the program in Derb Moulay Cherif and other areas.

Another news report published by casablancaalaan.ma states that concerned authorities had evacuated many neighboring homes in the area, which were at risk of collapsing.

The above evidence establishes that the video has been on the internet since 2022 and shows an old building collapsing, and was not a result of the 2023 earthquake.

The verdict

An old and unrelated video from 2022 is falsely being shared as a building collapsing during the recent earthquake in Morocco. Therefore, we have marked the claim as false.