FACT CHECK: Post warning of strong earthquake links to shopping site
Claim: Various Facebook posts warning of a looming earthquake “stronger than magnitude 8” contain links to a list of places susceptible to the quake.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: Several posts are circulating on Facebook warning that the Philippines will experience a strong earthquake, citing Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) Director Teresito Bacolcol. These posts contain links to supposed references providing more information about the looming quake.
On the Facebook page “Metro Headlines,” a July 15 post contained a link after the text “Mga lugar na dapat mag-ingat” (places that should exercise caution). As of writing, it has 6,100 reactions, 1,600 comments, and 17,000 shares.
The facts: The links in the Facebook post are clickbait and do not lead to credible references about the supposed earthquake warning.
Three posts from “Metro Headlines” link to products on e-commerce sites Shopee and Lazada, instead of the supposed list of danger zones or a source for the earthquake warning.
Other Facebook posts with similar inaccurate links pointing to products from online selling platforms came from pages like “Breaking News” (July 15), “Mayor Benjamin Magalong supporters” (July 12), “Trending Viral” (July 12), “trendnewsph” (July 12 and June 28), “Balitang Headline” (June 30), and “Surigao News Update” (June 28).
Magnitude 8 earthquake warning: The misleading Facebook posts falsely implied that the strong earthquake was imminent. Bacolcol indeed expressed the possibility of earthquakes stronger than magnitude 8 hitting the Philippines, but this should be placed in context: the Phivolcs director made the remarks following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake in Taiwan last April. In this GMA News article dated April 4, 2024, Bacolcol explained that the Philippine Trench and Manila Trench are capable of generating magnitude 8.1 and magnitude 8.3 earthquakes, respectively.
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The misleading posts cited Bacolcol to imply a prediction or forecast of a looming earthquake. However, Phivolcs has previously said that it is not yet possible to know when and where a future earthquake will hit. (READ: EXPLAINER: Is it possible to predict earthquakes?)
Related fact-checks: Rappler has fact-checked several claims about earthquakes before; the most recent article published on June 24, 2024 debunked a claim by self-proclaimed psychic Rudy Baldwin of an earthquake that will hit Metro Manila.
Rappler has also fact-checked several claims about inaccurate or bogus links, especially about job applications, government aid, and health products. – Percival Bueser/ Rappler.com
Percival Bueser is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
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