A video showing a man holding onto a window and falling to the ground is going viral online to claim that it shows British singer and former member of boy band, One Direction, Liam Payne, jumping off the balcony.
On Wednesday, 16 October, Payne died after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was 31.
An archive can be seen here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
How did we find out the truth?: We performed a reverse image search on some of the keyframes of the viral video and this led us to several old reports.
A report shared by Mexican news website Excélsior on 13 September 2023 and it carried the same video.
The article stated that the video was captured when a man tried to save himself during a fire in a building located at 58 República de Cuba Street in downtown Mexico City.
This video is from 2023 and from Mexico.
(Source: Excelsior/Screenshot)
A follow up report shared by Excelsior on 14 September 2023 identified the 24 year old man as Vincent Estal Carabias but he died the same day in the hospital, succumbing to burns and fractures.
Another Spanish report shared by Aristegui Noticias on 13 September 2023 also shared the same details.
Liam Payne's death: At the age of 31, the singer tragically died after falling from his hotel balcony at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
According to CNN, the staff at the hotel had requested urgent police assistance shortly before Payne’s death Wednesday, citing a guest "who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol".
Payne, a former member of One Direction, had been vocal about addiction and mental health issues.
Conclusion: An old video of a man jumping from a window is being falsely linked to Liam Payne's death.
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