Video doesn't show Liam Payne's fatal fall from balcony in Argentina

(Trigger warning: This story contains mentions of distressing events. Reader discretion is advised.)

What is the claim?

A video has gone viral on social media showing an individual jumping from a building alongside claims it shows the final moments of Liam Payne, a former member of the band One Direction, who was reportedly found dead after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

One X (formerly Twitter) user shared this video and wrote, "BREAKING: Liam Payne has died at the age of 31 after reportedly falling from a balcony in Argentina. We are extremely shocked and heartbroken to hear this news. Sending our love to his family, friends and fans around the world.  💔#LiamPayne". At the time of writing this story, the post has amassed over 5.6 million views and more than 23,000 likes. 

A Facebook user in the U.K. also shared this video and wrote, "Omg there's a video of Liam Payne falling out the window." Archived versions of such posts can be found here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Screenshot of similar claims posted on social media (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, we found that the video was filmed in September 2023 in Mexico City and shows an individual jumping out of a building to escape a fire.

When is the video from and what does it show?

On carrying out a reverse image search on keyframes of the viral video, we found multiple news reports featuring similar screenshots and videos in their reports.

A report by Mexican news outlet TV Azteca Guerrero, from September 13, 2023, headlined, "VIDEO: Man jumps out of window to save himself from a fire in Mexico City," carried a screenshot similar to the viral video. The report stated the man was forced to jump from a window on the third floor of a building after their apartment caught fire. According to the report the man survived the fall and was treated by paramedics and later transferred to a hospital.

Screenshot of a news report from Mexico City in 2023 (Source: TV Azteca Guerrero)

The report carried a similar video credited to a news reporter, @ortega__karen. The caption of the video states, "Man jumped out of the window of his apartment located at the intersection of República de Cuba and República de Chile streets after a fire was reported in his bedroom. He is already being treated by paramedics and will be transferred to a hospital for medical attention" (Translated from Spanish using Google Translate).

Screenshot of the video posted on September 13, 2024. (Source: X: @adn40/Screenshot)

Another Mexican news outlet, Excelsior, also published multiple videos and photos of the incident in a report on September 13, 2023. In one of the videos, the individual can be seen clinging to the window outside of the building as flames engulf their apartment.

Another news report indicates that the building where the incident occurred was used as a warehouse for storing fireworks, which were intended for sale during an upcoming national celebration. The man who jumped from the building reportedly suffered a severe skull fracture upon impact and was subsequently taken to a hospital for medical treatment.

Video from Mexico, not Argentina

We geolocated the building in the footage to downtown Mexico City. We were able to match the building seen in Google Street View images to the building seen in the viral video.

Payne died on October 16 after his fall from a third-story balcony of the CasaSur Hotel in the Palermo neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Police reported they discovered Payne's body after emergency services responded to a call from staff at the hotel. According to reports, medics confirmed Payne's death at the scene, though the exact cause of his death remains unknown.

The verdict

The video was filmed in Mexico City in September 2023 and shows a man jumping from a window to escape a fire. It does not show Liam Payne, who died on October 16, 2024, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.