Old, Unrelated Image Shared as Child in Rubble After Myanmar Earthquake

This image is reportedly from Syria, showing a child peeping through a hole.

Fact-Check: We were able to trace this image back to October 2024.  

(Source: The Quint) 

An earthquake struck Myanmar on 28 March, and the epicentre was located in Mandalay, resulting in significant destruction.

The claim: Following this, an image of a child looking into a camera through a hole is being shared on social media. Those sharing have claimed it shows a child in rubble following the calamity.

An archive of the post can be found here

(Source: Instagram/Screenshot) 

(Archives of similar claims can be found here and here.)

Is the claim true?: No, the claim is false.

• We were able to trace this image to October 2024 on short video platform TikTok, predating the recent earthquake in Myanmar.

What we found: We ran a Google reverse image search on the image and were led to a Reddit thread which was inquiring about this image, as well.

• One user's comment noted that the original video was uploaded on TikTok by a user named "@/userdvvrl92i." The origin of the video was from Syria and showed a child peeking through a hole.

• It also included a screenshot from TikTok which showed a child in a yellow sweater peeking into a hole. The caption of the said TikTok video noted, "The girl is in Syria and was playing. She is not in Gaza."

Here is the comment under the said Reddit thread. 

(Source: Reddit/Thread) 

• This clarification was made because this image had gone viral as one showing a child in Gaza, previously. You can view some claims here and here.

• Using a virtual private network (VPN), we accessed TikTok but were unable to locate this user or the video.

Here is the screenshot from TikTok. 

(Source: TikTok) 

• We then went through the reverse image search results and located a TikTok video by "@abuhudhaifaabsi2" featuring the same viral clip. This video was uploaded on 29 October 2024.

• However, the video did not mention where it was from. Regardless, the clip predates the earthquake in Myanmar.

Here is a screenshot from the TikTok video. 

(Source: TikTok/Screenshot) 

Conclusion: This is an old video and is not related to the Myanmar earthquake.

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