Old Spain Video Used to Show Cyclone Tauktae’s Effect in Gujarat

A video showing huge waves crashing onto a walkway is being shared to claim that it shows the beach near the Somnath Temple in Gujarat after Cyclone Tauktae made landfall in the state on 17 May.

However, we found that the video is from the coastal city of San Sebastián in Spain and could be traced back to December 2020.

CLAIM

The video was widely shared with the claim that it shows the raging sea during Cyclone Tauktae in Gujarat.

Several social media users shared the video on Twitter and Facebook with the same claim and the archived posts can be found here, here, here and here.

WHAT WE FOUND

We divided the viral video into multiple keyframes and reverse searched them on Yandex which led us to a YouTube video uploaded in January 2021 and was a longer version of the viral one.

The viral visuals can be seen from 01:45 minutes in the YouTube video and the description of the same mentioned that it was shot in northern Spain.

We also found two Instagram posts with similar visuals and captions and they were shared in December 2020. The caption of one of the posts read: "Big Waves at San Sebastián Uhinak Donostian (sic)." (Translation: Big Waves at San Sebastián Donostian waves).

Donostia-San Sebastián is a coastal city by the Bay of Biscay in northern Spain.

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STREET VIEW ON GOOGLE MAPS SHOWS VIDEO IS FROM SPAIN

With the help of street view available on Google Maps, we were able to establish the exact location of the viral video as Pasealekua Berria, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain.

COMPARISON BETWEEN STREET VIEW AND VIRAL VIDEO— IT’S A MATCH!

On comparing, we found several similar elements in the Street View images and the viral visuals.

For instance, low railings and a wall along with it can be seen in both. Similarly, a lamp post is also present in both visuals.

Further, a geometrical structure can be seen in the viral video that closely resembles the structure visible on Google Maps' street view.

Even the turning of the road is similar in both the visuals.

Clearly, the viral video is from Spain and does not show Cyclone Tauktae in Gujarat.

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