Video from theme park shared as visuals of earthquake in Los Angeles

What's being claimed?

A video purportedly showing a train crashing has been shared online, claiming to show live footage of the earthquake that hit Pasadena in California, U.S.A. An X (formerly Twitter) user shared the video (archived here) with the caption, "Live footage from 4.7 earthquake that just hit Los Angeles with an epicenter in South Pasadena." An archive of a similar post is here. 

Screenshot of the video shared online. (Source: Facebook/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

On August 12, 2024, a magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck Pasadena, California, and tremors were felt across Los Angeles.

However, the claim is false. The video shows a ride at Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood.

Here are the facts

Logically Facts ran a reverse image search on one of the video's keyframes and found similar videos posted on YouTube.

A similar video was uploaded to Theme Park Connect's YouTube (archive here) on April 19, 2024, with the caption: "Earthquake — The Big One | The World-Famous Studio Tour 60th Anniversary | Universal Studios (2024)." The objects, such as a chair and camera, seen at the timestamp of 1:42 seconds match the viral video. The train crashing also can be seen at 1:47 seconds. 

Comparison of viral video with YouTube video. (Source: X/YouTube)

Comparison of viral video with YouTube video. (Source: X/YouTube)

Vlogger Isabell Marroquin uploaded the same video of the train on June 25, 2024 (archived here) on her YouTube channel. It was captioned "NEW - Earthquake: The Big One (Studio Tour) at Universal Studios Hollywood! At the timestamp of 1:37 seconds, we can spot the same train.

Our search revealed that the location in the video is, in fact, an attraction at a Universal Studios theme park, built to simulate an earthquake of 8.3 magnitude. The website Inside Universal has images of the location, called the "Earthquake: The Big One," and states that it recently underwent renovations in honor of the Studio Tour's 60th anniversary. Film cameras and lights were also added. 

The evidence shows that videos of an attraction from Universal Studio's theme park have been shared as real footage of an earthquake.

The verdict

The viral video is not the real effect of the earthquake. It is a simulation of an earthquake from the theme park at Universal Studios in Hollywood.