Case analysis. Published
Is this video from today?
Was this video filmed during the 20 April 2026 earthquake?
CSINT-SOCMINT-2026-001Open in archive
The claim as shared
- 1The post's text
- 22,900 likes and 1,000 shares
A frame of the archive video Fact Crescendo saved on 22 April 2026. Screenshot taken on 28 September 2026. The page belongs to its owner and is shown as a quotation. Source, Fact Crescendo archive
The oldest copy found
- 1Published 11 January 2024
- 2Place name, 石川県・穴水町
The 視聴者提供 in the top left says a viewer supplied the footage; MBS did not film it. Screenshot taken on 28 September 2026. The page belongs to its owner and is shown as a quotation. Source, MBS NEWS, YouTube, 11 January 2024
- What the records show
- The video was not filmed during the 20 April 2026 earthquake. It was recorded in the town of Anamizu, Ishikawa, during the Noto earthquake of 1 January 2024 and published by MBS NEWS on 11 January 2024. Date and place give the same answer.
- What they do not show
- Whether the people sharing it knew. That the 20 April earthquake caused no harm; ten people were injured. That every frame of the video is unedited.
- Based on
- USGS and Earthquake Research Committee records, the archive of the Facebook post, Bing visual search, the MBS NEWS recording on YouTube, fact-check articles. No paid database or special tool was used.
The claim examined
Within two days of the earthquake a dashcam video was shared on Facebook with this line. 7.4 Magnitude Earthquake just struck off of North Japan. Tsunami warning in effect.
Method
I brought the question down to one sentence and first recorded the real event from an official source. I set the caption aside and looked at the picture, ran a frame through visual search and found the oldest copy. I wrote both earthquakes into one table. I read the fact-checks only after finishing my own check.
What happened on 20 April 2026
- Date and timeRecord
- 20 April 2026, 16.52 Japan time (07.52 UTC)
- PlaceRecord
- Off the Sanriku coast. USGS, 102 km ENE of Miyako
- MagnitudeRecord
- JMA 7.7, depth 19 km. USGS 7.4
- Strongest shakingRecord
- 5+ on the Japanese scale, Hashikami (Aomori)
- TsunamiRecord
- Highest reading 79 cm, Kuji port, provisional
- CasualtiesRecord
- No deaths reported. 10 injured, 2 seriously (as of 28 April)
- 1Magnitude
- 2Time
07.52.58 UTC is 16.52.58 in Japan. News reports round it to 16.53. USGS page, screenshot taken 28 September 2026. Source, USGS, us6000sri7
The 7.4 in the post is correct; USGS gives the same magnitude. A tsunami warning was really issued too. Only the video is wrong, and the correct details are what make the post convincing.
The picture itself
| What I asked | What I found |
|---|---|
| Any writing? | No readable place name in the shared copy. The source has one in the corner. |
| What does the light say? | Both struck in the afternoon, Noto at 16.10, Sanriku at 16.52. Light did not help. |
| Can you see the season? | Not proof on its own. |
| Is there sound? | I could not make out the alert in the shared copy. The source's description says it is heard in the original. |
The oldest copy
I searched a frame in Bing Visual Search. The first result was a story about another earthquake, without this video. Second was the MBS NEWS video on YouTube. I tried the other way round too. Searching YouTube for 穴水町 ドラレコ (Anamizu dashcam) brings the same video up first.
The two earthquakes side by side
| The claim | The source found | |
|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Off Sanriku | Noto Peninsula |
| Date | 20 April 2026, 16.52 | 1 January 2024, 16.10 |
| Magnitude (JMA) | 7.7 | 7.6 |
| Where filmed | Not stated | Anamizu, Ishikawa |
| Earliest record I have | 22 April 2026, the post's archive | 11 January 2024, MBS NEWS |
- The claim being checked
- What a document states
- Seen or measured in this study
- Noto earthquake, 1 January 2024Record. GSI record, 16.10, M7.6.
- Shared as just now, 21 to 22 April 2026Claim. Facebook and X.
- Fact-checks, 22 to 27 April 2026Record. Fact Crescendo, AFP, Tempo, AAP.
- My check, 28 September 2026Observed. Screenshots taken and values read on this day.
What others found
After my own check
Fact Crescendo tied the same video to the MBS NEWS recording of 11 January 2024. Tempo reached the same answer on 27 April. AFP wrote that a four-part video shared on X on 21 April was also from January 2024.
I chose this order on purpose; I wanted to see my own result first. Fact-checkers reaching the same answer does not replace my check, because they look at the same public records.
- 1The tool they used
- 2Upload date of the MBS recording
Fact Crescendo, 22 April 2026. Screenshot taken on 28 September 2026. The page belongs to its owner and is shown as a quotation. Source, Fact Crescendo, 22 April 2026
What the evidence does not show
- Who first shared the video as just now? I did not look for the accounts; that is outside this work.
- Who filmed the original? MBS does not name the viewer.
Working record. The booklet does not look for the people who shared the video or expose their accounts. Names and profile pictures are blacked out in the screenshots.
Sources
- Booklet (PDF, 11 pages) The same examination, printable.
- USGS, M 7.4, us6000sri7Event record.
- HERP, Earthquake Research Committee, 14 May 2026Evaluation of the 20 April 2026 earthquake off Sanriku.
- MBS NEWS, YouTube, 11 January 2024Anamizu dashcam recording.
- Fact Crescendo, 22 April 2026Fact-check.
- AFP Fact CheckOld clips tied to the April 2026 earthquake.
- AAP FactCheckOld disaster videos recycled.
- Tempo, 27 April 2026Fact-check.
- GSI, 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake1 January 2024, 16.10, M7.6.
Published by Ahmet Göker. Agent and tool contributions shown in the records are listed under Working record. Documents, images and photographs remain with their owners. People are not shown or are blurred.