The earthquake that struck the province of Al Haouz on Friday evening is the subject of a number of Fake News stories. Here are the most viral headlines that we fact checked:
- Publications on social networks claim that the Directorate General of Meteorology (DGM) has issued an orange alert forecasting torrential rain on Wednesday and Thursday in several regions of Morocco, including disaster areas. FALSE.
Contacted by Hespress EN, the General Directorate of Meteorology categorically denied this information, stating that it had issued no such alert.
According to the DGM, “following the spread of false information on social networks about an alleged weather alert forecasting stormy showers of up to 120 mm and wind gusts of up to 95 km/h from Wednesday (3pm) to Thursday (6pm), the Directorate General of Meteorology states that it has not issued any alert on this subject”.
Instead, the directorate predicts “light thundery showers in some provinces of the High Atlas and surrounding plains from Wednesday afternoon.”
- Videos and pictures showing Algerian assist and rescue teams headed to Morocco. FALSE.
A Hespress EN source within the Foreign Ministry clarified that Morocco declined Algeria’s aid offer, as authorities’ assessment of needs and requirement proved it unnecessary.
- The fall of mountain boulders on the Tizi N Test road, linking Marrakech to Taroudant, caused the death of six people assisting rescue workers, according to Internet users. FALSE.
Local authorities categorically denied this information.
- An image shared on social networks alleges that the authorities have closed access to the affected villages and are asking citizens “to channel their donations to the Mohammed VI Foundation”. FALSE.
Authoritative sources have categorically denied this message.
- Rumors are circulating on social networks claiming that the CHU-Mohammed VI in Marrakech is suffering from a lack of medical equipment, as well as the Central Hospital of Agadir. FALSE.
In a clarification, the management of the CHU “denies and refutes all these false allegations that are circulating in these catastrophic times that our country is going through”. The center’s director confirms that “this health establishment is working to provide the necessary medical services and health care for the benefit of the victims and injured”.
- Internet users believe that falling mountain rocks on the Tizi-en-Test road, which connects Marrakesh to Taroudant, killed six people who were helping rescuers. FALSE. Local authorities categorically denied this information to MAP.
- Images shared on the web credit seismologist Frank Hoogerbeets with warning of another earthquake in Morocco. FALSE.
On his official account on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter), the seismologist denied rumors that he had predicted another earthquake in Morocco. He stated that these reactions concern the September 8 earthquake in Al Haouz and its aftershocks.
“Some media seem to claim that I ‘predicted’ another big quake in Morocco. This claim is false. I answered questions here about the current threat. Usually, after an earthquake like on 8 September, smaller aftershocks (M 4-5) occur. Another large one is less likely,” he said.
- A video showing a newborn baby being pulled from the rubble is circulating on social networks. FALSE.
This is an old video, published in May 2019, of an infant abandoned just after delivery.
- In a video shared on social networks, two children, presented as survivors of the Al Haouz earthquake, cry from hunger. FALSE.
This is a sequence shot 6 months ago in Afghanistan in which a boy and a girl were speaking in Afghan with the person taking the video.
- Websites report that owners of public transport vehicles in Inezgane have significantly increased the price of transport to the town of Taroudant, which was hit by Friday’s earthquake. FALSE.
This is an isolated incident which has no connection with the consequences of the earthquake, according to the local authorities in Inezgane who spoke to MAP.
An individual insisted that the driver take him to Aoulouz, a town 40 km from the cab driver’s terminal, prompting the latter to ask for a supplement to the initial fare. A joint commission visited the site to investigate the situation.
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