On November 27, Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, the largest active volcano in the world, erupted for the first time in nearly 40 years, ending its longest period of quiet in recorded history. Mauna Loa has joined its neighbour Kilauea, an active volcano 21 miles distant that has been erupting for more than a year, and is reportedly spewing 30 to 60 metres of lava into the air.
Against this backdrop, a terrifying video showing a superfast lava flow is widely shared on social media linking it to Hawaii’s recent Mauna Loa eruption.
The video is shared on Facebook with the caption, “Watch: Fountains of lava up to 200 feet (60 meters) high have been fired into the air from Hawaii’s Mauna Loa, geologists say, generating rivers of molten rock from the world’s largest active volcano #MaunaLoa #Hawaii #volcano”
Here’s the link to the above post.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the above claim and found it to be MISLEADING.
Using the InVid Tool, we extracted keyframes from the viral video and performed a Reverse Image Search. This search directed us to the official Facebook page of the Daily Mail Video which carried the same viral video on June 18, 2018. According to the text in the video, the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii was the source of the lava flow, which is said to have destroyed over 467 homes in its path. This proves that the video wasn’t shot during the most recent volcanic eruption.
Taking a cue from this, we searched further and found several tweets that carried the same video in 2020 stating that it shows Kilauea’s fissure eight, which took place on June 16, 2018.
We then discovered the Facebook profile of Hawaii-based photographer Ken Boyer, who posted identical footage there in 2018. He stated that the video was recorded on June 15, 2018. He posted the identical video on his YouTube page as well, claiming that it was shot in Leilani Estates, a CDP in Hawaii County’s District of Puna.
Images of the flaming stream of lava from the same place as the viral video were featured in news articles from 2018 regarding the Kilauea eruption.
Thus, is it evident that a video from 2018 is falsely linked to Hawaii’s recent Mauna Loa eruption. Therefore, the viral claim is misleading.
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