A video is widely shared on social media in which a minaret is being razed using a bulldozer.
Many social media users are sharing the video with the caption that it is from China, where the government is demolishing a mosque.
The social media user shared the video with the caption, “China. Is China treating Islamists properly? The funny thing is that 56 Islamic countries are silent..!!”
A similar post can be seen here.
SouthCheck found the claim to be fake. We found that the viral video is from Turkey and not China. Moreover, the minaret was damaged due to the earthquake and so it was demolished.
On doing a Google Reverse Image Search, we found the same video was uploaded by an Instagram user, My Fatsa Haber, on February 27, 2023, with a caption claiming that the video was from Adana, Turkey. The caption was in Turkish, which, when translated into English, reads, “Attempted "controlled demolition" for the damaged minaret in Adana after the earthquake. The demolition officer was injured.”
A longer video was shared on X by a Turkish news website on February 26, 2023, with a caption saying that after the earthquake, the minaret was demolished in a controlled manner in Adana.
A website also shared a screenshot of the video. The report associated with the screenshot read, “The minarets of 16 mosques in Adana were destroyed as earthquakes of the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude hit Kahramanmaraş Pazarcık and Elbistan districts. It was determined that 146 minarets were damaged and had to be demolished as it posed a great danger due to aftershocks. The teams took the necessary precautions and demolished 78 of the damaged minarets.”
Hence, we can ascertain that the viral claim is fake.
