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Claim: A Facebook user shared a short video of a building collapsing, alleging it occurred in Abuja.
Verdict: The alleged collapse of a skyscraper in Abuja is false. DUBAWA traced the actual event to a controlled demolition in China in 2023.
Full Text
In an era where social media shapes perceptions within moments, the spread of false narratives often stems from a mix of unintentional and deliberate actions. Some users share misinformation or disinformation not out of malice but because they have been misled or influenced by groups and conversations that align with their biases and interests.
In contrast, certain actors intentionally spread false narratives by creating networks designed to promote lies. A glaring example is the activities of the Igbo Times Magazine on Facebook and the controversial content from Simon Ekpa on X (formerly Twitter).
A growing trend within this ecosystem is language-based disinformation, where specific narratives are crafted to target audiences fluent in particular languages, such as Hausa. This is especially prevalent on platforms like TikTok and Facebook, where such groups or narratives gain traction quickly.
Recently, a Facebook user, @Kannywood celebrities, shared an 11-second video on Nov. 12, 2024, showing an incomplete building partially collapsing to the ground.
The video voiceover was in Hausa. The voice transcription reads:
“Kamar yadda kuke gani, wannan wani gini ne da yake zubowa a Abuja bayan an gama gina shi. Toh idan kai ne mai ginin nan me zaka yi, ko kuma ya zaka ce. Mu hade a comment section.”
In direct translation to English, it means:
“As you can all see, this is a building collapsing in Abuja after it was completely built. If it is your building, what will you do or what will you say? Let’s meet up in the comment section.”
As of Dec. 4, 2024, the post had garnered 1.7 million views, 8,900 likes, 516 comments, and 214 shares.
The comments were noteworthy, as many users expressed scepticism about the video’s authenticity and its claim. For instance:
@GodwinHassan responded in English, saying: “This is a pure lie. He doesn’t even know where the building is falling from. We are in Abuja. Tell us what part of Abuja that is.”
@BalaMohammed replied in Hausa: “Karya kakeyi wannan ginin ma ba a najeriya bane- wlh,” meaning: “You are lying. This building is not anywhere in Nigeria.”
@DanielOnwusi, offering a contrary opinion, commented: “It is actually in Nigeria, Abuja Gwa gwa.”
After reviewing the numerous reactions from other Facebook users, most who disagreed with the claim argued that the event in the video likely took place in China. However, the post left some questioning about the safety of buildings in the nation’s capital.
But does the evidence presented by the claimant support this assertion? DUBAWA investigated to find out.
Verification
DUBAWA conducted a reverse image search on keyframes from the viral video, which led to a YouTube video posted on Oct. 12, 2023. The caption on the video, as seen on the platform, reads: “Building demolition, China building demolition, building demolition teardown.”
The search also led to a Chinese streaming platform, Bilibili.com, where a series of demolition videos were shared, including the one posted by the Facebook user. None of the results from this search were linked to Nigeria or Abuja, contrary to the claims made by the Facebook user.
While continuing to gather more evidence, DUBAWA came across a fact-check on The Quint, an Indian platform, which had also addressed the same video. Social media claimed that the building was demolished by the Hyderabad Disaster Response and Assets Monitoring and Protection (HYDRA) team in Kokapet, India. The fact-check confirmed that the incident took place in China.
If such a structure collapsed in any part of Nigeria, it would have been widely shared on social media and reported by reputable websites. However, DUBAWA found no such reports after searching for related information.
In addition to confirming that the Facebook user was spreading misinformation, DUBAWA found multiple other false narratives on the Facebook page. These included using real or AI-generated images and videos taken out of context to describe never-occurring events. Examples can be seen here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion
DUBAWA’s investigation reveals that the incident claimed by the Facebook user to have occurred in Nigeria is false. The actual demolition took place in China.
