By Anmol Alphonso
A video of a minaret being brought down during a controlled demolition at a mosque in Adana, Türkiye, is being shared online with the false claim that it shows a mosque being demolished by the government in China.
In the viral video, we can see a minaret being demolished. A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to a mosque.
The three seconds video is being shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) with the caption, "The Chinese government destroying another mosque. The Chinese Communist Party has been focusing on mosques as part its crackdown against the Muslim Uyghurs. And yet, not a word of criticism from Arab leaders. No Jews, no news?"
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The same video and caption was previously posted by the verified X handle 'Visegrad 24' @visegrad24. The account later deleted its tweet after several users pointed out that the video is not from China. The account has been previously fact-checked for posting misinformation on X.
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The video is being shared by several verified X handles with the same false claim.
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FACT-CHECK
BOOM found that the viral video is from Adana, Türkiye, and it shows a controlled building demolition of a minaret that was brought down after it had been damaged during the deadly earthquake that hit the country in February 2023.
Taking a hint from the several X replies to the post by Visegrad 24, pointing out that the viral video is not from China, we ran keyword search and found several news reports stating that the incident is from Türkiye of a controlled demolition of a minaret after the 2023 earthquake had damaged it.
Turkish media outlet Aykırı had reported on the incident and posted the same video on February 26, 2023, with the caption when translated reads, "A "controlled demolition" attempt was made for the minaret damaged after the earthquake. The officer who supervised the demolition was injured."
We also found a news report by Gazete Oksijen who had reported on the controlled demolition. The report includes another video from a different angle that shows the minaret being demolished. The headline when translated reads, "A minaret fell on a house during a controlled demolition in Adana, causing damage."
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The report further states that in Adana, Türkiye, a minaret was demolished in a controlled manner on February 18, 2023 because it was damaged in the earthquake.
