Manipulated photo falsely shared as 'total solar eclipse'
A digitally altered image has been shared thousands of times on social media in multiple countries with a false claim that it showed the total solar eclipse that streaked across North America on April 8, 2024. The image -- a composite of two pictures -- has circulated online since at least 2015.
"Solar eclipse over South pacific ocean 040824 - photo by NASA. What an amazing phenomenon," read the caption of this Facebook post from a social media user in the Philippines.
The image purportedly showed an eclipse from across an expanse of water, with thick clouds and what appeared to be a ship on the horizon.
It was shared two days after people across North America gathered to view the celestial spectacle on April 8.
The "path of totality" during the total solar eclipse -- where the Moon completely obscures the Sun's light -- moved across Mexico and the United States before returning to the ocean over Canada's Atlantic coast.
Facebook users globally -- including in Australia, Pakistan, the United States -- also marvelled at the image in other posts shared thousands of times.
"That is amazing! Far better than what I saw today," one wrote.
"Only God can create something this perfect!!" another said.
The image was also shared in similar misleading posts on X here and here.
But a reverse image search using TinEye showed the picture has circulated since at least January 2015 (archived here).
The image was posted on Google Plus, a social network shut down in 2019 (archived here).
An article published by US fact-checking organisation Snopes in 2016 found that the image was created from two pictures: one that shows the ocean and another of the supposed eclipse (archived here).
Reverse image searches on TinEye showed the first image was uploaded to the photo-sharing site Flickr in 2009, but has since been deleted (archived here).
There is no information on whether the photo was actually taken in the South Pacific.
An article published in 2014 on the US-based lifestyle website Thought Catalog also used the image and attributed it to a Flickr user named Arthur Lewis (archived here).
The "eclipse" image -- which appears to have originated on a stock photo website -- has circulated online since 2009 (archived here).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the false image (left), the original ocean photo (top right) and the eclipse image (bottom right):
Hoaxes and manipulated images linked to the total solar eclipse have been debunked by AFP here, here and here.
