No, This Video Does Not Show Chinese Government Destroying a Mosque

The video is from February 2023 and shows a "controlled demolition" of a minaret in Turkey.

A video of a bulldozer destroying what appears to be a minaret is being shared on the internet as recent visuals of the Chinese government destroying a mosque in the country.

Those sharing the video have said, "China. Is China treating Islamists properly? The funny thing is that 56 Islamic countries are silent!!."

The video had generated over two lakh views on the platform. (More archives of similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)

Are these claims true?: Neither is this video recent nor is it from China. The video dates back to February 2023 and shows a "controlled demolition" of a minaret in Turkey that was damaged after the earthquake.

What led us to the truth?: We performed a Google Lens search on the keyframes of the viral video and came across the same one uploaded on the official X handle of Aykiri.

• It was shared on 26 February 2023.

• Its caption when translated to English said, "A "controlled demolition" attempt was made for the minaret damaged after the earthquake. The officer who supervised the demolition was injured."

• The video showed several other minarets being demolished.

Deprem sonrası hasar gören minare için "Kontrollü yıkım" girişiminde bulunuldu. Yıkımı yöneten görevli yaralandı.

— Aykırı (@aykiricomtr) February 26, 2023

News reports: A report published in EnsonHaber — a Turkish website said that one of the provinces affected by the earthquake was Adana. While 13 buildings were destroyed, around 200 were seriously damaged.

• The minarets of several mosques collapsed during the earthquake and about 150 minarets were damaged, posing a threat to the public.

• Due to this, the authorities began demolishing minarets in a controlled manner. One worker was injured during the demolition that was seen in the viral video.

Other news stories that carried the viral video can be found here and here.

Turkey earthquake in 2023: An earthquake of 7.8 magnitude had hit southern Turkey and parts of northern Syria on 6 February 2023. The regions also felt aftershocks. The quakes led to the death of reportedly more than 40,000 people and serious damage to the infrastructure in the region.

Conclusion: It is clear that a video of a damaged minaret being demolished in Turkey is being falsely shared as a recent visual from China.

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