Fact Check: These beluga whales DIDN'T warn Russia before the massive earthquake
Some news outlets also used this video in their reports about the earthquake.
India Today Fact Check found that the video in question is indeed from Russia, but dates back to 2023.Our ProbeReverse searching keyframes from the viral video led us to a news report about it, dated August 15, 2023. It is hereby clear that the video is almost two years old.The report stated that five stranded beluga whales were rescued by local fishermen in Russia's Far East. The belugas, four adults and a calf, were found on a beach near the mouth of the Tigil River. We then found multiple news reports about the incident. According to them, local fishermen found a group of beluga whales beached on the shores of Tigilsky, northern Kamchatka. The four fishermen, Andrey Korolev, Vladimir Kochelaevsky, Sergey Umkev, and Ashot Ustyan, tried to carry the whales back to the ocean. But they were unable to do so because the whales were too heavy. They then kept the whales alive by feeding them and pouring seawater on them. After some time, a tide came in and took them all back to the Sea of Okhotsk. The video was shared by several Russian news outletsat that time.Five beached beluga whales were rescued after being beached on the shores of Tigilsky, on the Kamchatka peninsula in eastern Russia pic.twitter.com/xH6KNEy34O— RT (@RT_com) August 21, 2023Thus, it is clear that a 2023 video is being falsely shared as whales warning people about the earthquake in Russia a day before it struck the country.- Ends
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