Old 'special effects' clip misrepresented as 'Taipei 101 swaying during 2024 quake'

An old video appearing to show Taipei 101, Taiwan's tallest skyscraper, swaying back and forth has been shared with a false claim that it was filmed during the 7.4-magnitude earthquake that hit the self-ruled island on April 3, 2024. The clip was previously uploaded in August 2022 by a TikTok user who called it a "special effects" video. AFP's footage filmed during the quake shows the tower did not sway violently.

A video, which appears to show Taipei 101, Taiwan's tallest building, swaying back and forth, was posted on TikTok on April 3, 2024.

"Because of the earthquake in Taiwan, [Taipei] 101," says the Indonesian-language text superimposed on the video, while the post's caption shows hashtags for "earthquake" and "Taiwan".

The eight-second video has been viewed more than 4,000 times.

The post appeared on the day a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Taiwan's Hualien county, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital Taipei.

At least 13 people were killed and more than 1,100 injured by the temblor, the strongest that hit the island in 25 years. Strict building codes and widespread disaster readiness were credited with averting an even bigger catastrophe.

Taipei 101 -- once the world's tallest building until it was was overtaken by Dubai's Burj Khalifa -- withstood the massive quake, thanks to its structural strength and flexibility, and an enormous tuned mass damper (archived links here and here).

The clip was viewed more than 9,000 times after it was also shared alongside a similar claim elsewhere on TikTok here and here, as well as Facebook.

It also circulated in similar posts in English, Tagalog and Thai, racking up more than a million views.

However, the claim is false; the video does not show Taipei 101 during the April 2024 quake.

'Special effects'

The same clip was shared in a now-deleted post by a Taiwan-based TikTok user on August 17, 2022 (archived link).

Replying to a comment asking whether the building could collapse, he wrote in Indonesian: "Don't worry, it's only special effects."

AFP previously published a fact-check report on the video after it was falsely linked to an earthquake that struck southeastern Taiwan in September 2022.

AFP footage of Taipei's skyline taken during the April 2024 quake showed that Taipei 101 did not sway violently.

A closer look at the AFP video shows some buildings around the skyscraper do not appear in the false video.

Below is a screenshot comparison of the false clip (left) and the AFP video (right), with different features marked by AFP:

On April 3, 2024, Taipei 101 posted a statement on its official Facebook page to dismiss the claim (archived link).

"TAIPEI 101 is in normal operation following the earthquake on April 3rd," it wrote. "Please do not share or repost any misleading simulation videos which may induce misconception."

AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the April 2024 quake in Taiwan, such as here, here and here.

April 12, 2024 This story was amended to archive a link in the 14th line