FACT CHECK: Video of ‘seven suns’ in sky not a prophecy for end of the world
Claim: The “seven suns” that appeared in the sky over Chengdu, Sichuan, China is a prophecy for the end of the world and a last sign from the Bible heralding God’s arrival.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: As of writing, the August 26 YouTube video bearing the claim has 170,269 views, 3,200 likes, and 751 comments. It was posted by a YouTube channel with over 155,000 subscribers.
The video titled “Seven Suns Appears in Sky: “The Last Sign of Bible?” Trump Prophecy | God’s Message Today” features a thumbnail depicting seven suns lined up next to each other in the sky. It also includes a mirrored photo of former US President Donald Trump with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, from their meeting in July.
The video shows a clip reportedly filmed by a woman from a hospital in Chengdu on August 18, who shared that the event lasted around a minute.
The facts: The video of “seven suns” appearing in the sky is not a supernatural event, but an optical illusion caused by light refracting through layered glass windows, creating virtual images.
Experts have debunked the supposed phenomenon, according to reports from Yahoo News, News 18, and the New York Post.
According to a Dimsum Daily Hong Kong report, Zeng Yang, vice president of the Sichuan Society for Astronomy Amateur, explained that additional layers of glass create virtual images, which can vary depending on the viewing angle. The report also noted that the upright and dimmer appearance of the supposed multiple suns in the video is consistent with the effects of an optical illusion.
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Video source: The viral video gained attention on Weibo after being reposted by Sohu Video News Channel where it garnered 1.63 million views. It was then reposted to Reddit by user worldofjaved where it received massive online traction. As of writing, the post has been removed by moderators.
No Trump mention: The video thumbnail and title also suggest a link between the “seven suns in the sky” and a supposed prophecy involving Trump, who is running for another presidential term in the 2024 US elections. However, the video itself mentions neither Trump nor Netanyahu, whose pictures are included in the thumbnail. This suggests that the thumbnail and title were likely meant to attract views by leveraging Trump’s name and image. – Mariamne Yasmin Yap/Rappler.com
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Mariamne Yasmin Yap is a Rappler volunteer. She is a third year journalism student at the University of Santo Tomas.