Facts Matter: Social media users help distinguish fake from real earthquake photos

The number of people killed by an earthquake in Turkey and Syria last week continues to rise, with more than 25,000 dead. Photos and video from the rescue efforts have been circulating on social media.

An Instagram user posted a photo of two people, covered in blood and lying in rubble, with the hashtags: "#prayforturkey #prayforsyria #earthquake #turkeyearthquake2023."

But the people in that photo had nothing to do with the devastating Feb. 6 earthquake, according to PolitiFact. In fact, that scene isn't real. The people in the image are actors in a clip from the HBO drama series "Game of Thrones."

Some commenters recognized the scene and encouraged the owner of the Instagram account to delete the post.

"This is disrespectful to the victims," a commenter wrote.

In the past, other videos and photos from movies and TV shows have been posted on social media as a false representation of real events, such as the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, PolitiFact said.

Photo of rescue dog is stock image

The recent earthquake in Turkey and Syria was the subject of many fake posts over the past week. A photo of a dog searching for survivors among the wreckage was one of them.

A photo showing a Labrador retriever in the rubble, near a hand and arm sticking through the bricks, was posted on Twitter with the words, "Heartbreaking Photo of The Day." The caption included a crying emoji, a broken heart emoji and hashtags #earthquake, #Turkey and #Syria.

But this isn't a photo of a rescue dog helping out in Turkey and Syria over the past few days, according to Reuters. It's a photo for purchase from a stock image service.

The photo, along with similar images, appears on the stock image websites Alamy and Dreamstime, under the subject, "Dog looking for injured people." A description on the Alamy site says the image was taken in October 2018 by photographer Jaroslav Noska.

That photo also has been on Noska's Instagram account since 2018.

Balloon kill mark wasn't added to jet

A suspected Chinese spy balloon was seen traveling across U.S. airspace earlier this month and was shot down Feb. 4 off the coast near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, by a member of the military in an F-22 Raptor fighter jet.

Almost immediately after the incident, an image began appearing on social media showing an F-22 jet with a balloon-shaped symbol on its side. In the photo a pilot is giving a thumbs-up from inside the cockpit.

"The F-22 has a balloon kill marking," read the caption on one post that included the image.

The kill mark, or victory mark, is a tag applied to the side of a military aircraft to indicate an aerial victory.

But that photo is fake, according to The Associated Press. It was taken more than two years ago and the kill mark was digitally added.

The original photo shows an F-22 at California's Edwards Air Force Base, without any markings on its side. The image was posted to the base's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts in 2020.

"Team Edwards getting the test mission done #FortheWarfighter!" the post read. "Maj. Brandon Burfeind, 411th Flight Test Squadron, F-22 Combined Test Force, gives a thumbs-up after a ground crew gets his F-22 Raptor ready for flight, April 1."

NFL referee not investigated

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will face off in Super Bowl 57 today at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

A recent post being shared claims the Chiefs may have had some help getting to the big game. The post focuses on a referee who officiated the AFC championship game between the Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals and is purportedly being investigated by the NFL.

"BREAKING: NFL head ref of the AFC Championship game, Ronald Torbert, commenting on the NFL's investigation on his family member placing a wager on the game this morning," a Twitter post read.

It also quotes Torbert as saying, "I had no knowledge that my son placed a large wager on the Chiefs until after the game."

But none of that is true, according to The Associated Press. The claim originally was posted on a satirical site.

The post began on a site self-identified as a "parody/satire sports anchor at KVWN sports news," referring to a fictional news station.

The quote from Torbert was supposedly from the radio station 101.4 The Juice. But that station doesn't exist.

An NFL spokesperson just referred the AP to the fact the story originated on a website known for satire.

• Bob Oswald is a veteran Chicago-area journalist and former news editor of the Elgin Courier-News. Contact him at boboswald33@gmail.com.