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Wasi Mirza

With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this new series, SCMP Fact-Check, the Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers.
A 16-second clip was shared on Facebook on Thursday and has amassed more than 200,000 views.
“Firefighters’ first person perspective. A tribute to firefighters #HongKongFire #FireRescue #Firefighters,” the post’s Chinese caption reads.
The video appears to show bodycam footage of firefighters battling an inferno.

The video is circulating online as Hong Kong reels from the city’s worst fire in decades that engulfed seven blocks in Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po last week.
It was also shared in similar posts online on Threads and Facebook.
Several comments left by users indicate that they believe the video genuinely shows scenes from the Tai Po fire.
“It’s lucky that Hong Kong has you,” one wrote in Chinese.
But the footage is actually from a fire in Chile in 2024.
Investigation
A reverse image search on Google using one of the keyframes of the video found that it had been uploaded on YouTube by GoPro’s official account on November 9, 2024.
The footage in the Facebook reel corresponds to the 1:18 mark of GoPro’s video.
“The brave men + women of the Third Fire Company of Ñuñoa went to work to put out the flames engulfing a burning house in Santiago, Chile ... as seen in fireman Joseth Abel Espinosa’s POV,” the video’s description reads.
Below is a comparison of the footage in the misleading posts (left) with the video from GoPro (right).

Using this information, the Post did a keyword search on Google and found the mentioned firefighter’s Instagram account, which also had a version of the video uploaded on November 11, 2024.
As the video has been online since at least 2024, it is clearly not tied to the recent incident in Tai Po.
SCMP Fact-Check has reached out to the Facebook account owner for comment.
Verdict: Misleading
Seen something suspicious online? Tell us on factcheck@scmp.com.


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Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire tragedy

Video of ‘firefighters in Hong Kong’ actually shows blaze in Chile in 2024

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook reel with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

Screenshot of the Facebook reel with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A composite image showing scenes from the Facebook reel (left) and the one uploaded by GoPro (right). Photo: Facebook/GoPro/SCMP Composite

Hong Kong leader John Lee pays tribute to firefighter killed in Tai Po blaze

Firefighters arriving at the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin. Photo: Edmond So

A firefighter battling the blaze at one of the blocks of Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po. Photo: Eugene Lee

Hong Kong fire death toll rises to 83 as survivor found on stairs of building - as it happened

Relatives weep after identifying loved ones who perished in the fire. Photo: Eugene Lee

AI-generated scenes ‘from France’s 2025 Louvre heist’ circulate in Hong Kong

A screenshot of different points in the Facebook reel showing the two fabricated videos of the heist. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

Instances of morphed hands (left) and a disappearing crowbar (right) highlighted in the two fabricated videos. Photo: Facebook/Composite via AI Forensics

Instances of the Sora watermarks in both videos. Photo: Facebook/Composite via AI Forensics

A comparison of the entrance of the gallery in the fabricated video (left) with an image of the genuine Apollo Gallery (right). Photo: Facebook/Louvre/SCMP Composite

A comparison of the roof structure and artwork from the fabricated video (left) and the genuine Louvre gallery (right). Photo: Facebook/Louvre/SCMP Composite

Poor fire retardance, alleged worker smoking among fatal Hong Kong blaze theories

The blaze at Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po continues to burn into the evening. Photo: Eugene Lee

The fire resistance level of the scaffolding on the buildings has come under immediate scrutiny. Photo: Eugene Lee

Some residents in the affected blocks said they had seen workers there smoking, although the official cause of the blaze has yet to be determined. Photo: Sam Tsang

News

Hong Kong

Society

SCMP Fact-Check

This video does not show Hongkonger knocked over during Super Typhoon Ragasa

A screenshot from a video inaccurately linked to Super Typhoon Ragasa in Hong Kong. Photo: Facebook/SCMP composite

A screenshot of the reel with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP composite

A composite image comparing a key frame from the Facebook reel (left) with the video from ViralBear (right), with similar scenes highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/ViralBear/SCMP composite

‘Videos from Hong Kong’s 2025 rainstorm’ actually show downpour in 2023

A screenshot of the two reels side by side with lines drawn by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

Pedestrians brave the rain under a black rainstorm warning at Hill Road in Hong Kong’s Shek Tong Tsui, August 14, 2025. Photo: Karma Lo

A screenshot of the footage in the misleading posts (left) with the CNS video (right), with similar features highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A Post photograph of the engulfed Chai Wan street on September 8, 2023. Photo: Dickson Lee

A screenshot showing the video in the misleading posts (left) with the one from 2023 (right), with similar features highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/Daily Express US/SCMP Composite

Photo from 2022 shared online as depicting July fire on Air India plane leaving Hong Kong

An Air India Airbus A320 aircraft. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post with lines crossed through. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A composite image showing the misleading Facebook post (left) with a frame from the OTV report (right). Photo: Facebook/OTV/SCMP composite

Video of people struggling in Typhoon Wipha winds filmed in Zhuhai, not Hong Kong

A screenshot of the video posted on Facebook with lines crossed through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A composite of the video in the misleading posts (left) with the video on MSN (right). Photo: Facebook/MSN/SCMP Composite

A composite showing scenes from the video in the misleading posts (left) with an image from Google Maps (right), with similar elements highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/Google/SCMP Composite

A composite showing the name of the club visible in AccuWeather’s video (left) compared to a video filmed at the same location (right). Photo: AccuWeather/YouTube/SCMP Composite

Video ‘from fatal Air India crash in June’ actually shows Hong Kong airport

Parts of an Air India plane that crashed on June 12 are seen on top of a building in Ahmedabad, India. Photo: AP

Screenshot of the false post with lines crossed through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A screenshot showing similar scenes from the video (left) and the photo on Alamy (right), with similar areas highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/Alamy/SCMP composite

A screenshot of a frame from the video (left) and satellite imagery (right), with similar features highlighted by SCMP. Photo: Facebook/Google/SCMP Composite

‘SCMP report’ claiming Hongkongers ‘will receive income from taxes’ is fake

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, pictured during an interview on June 20, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A screenshot of the article crossed through by the Post. Photo: Handout/SCMP composite

An old video is being misrepresented online as Hong Kong authorities battling deadly blaze in Tai Po


An old video is being misrepresented online as Hong Kong authorities battling deadly blaze in Tai Po.


Hong Kong fires and safety

Chile

SCMP

Fact-Check

Fact-Check | Video of ‘firefighters in Hong Kong’ actually shows blaze in Chile in 2024

An old video is being misrepresented online as Hong Kong authorities battling deadly blaze in Tai Po