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The video was shared in similar fake posts on Weibo, Douyin (the Chinese edition of TikTok), and Chinese video-sharing platforms Bilibili and Xigua Shipin. It has also spread on Facebook and X in languages, adding Arabic, English, and Thai.
The false claim was also shared on Chinese news aggregation portals Tencent and Netease.
The clip actually shows a fireplace in a warehouse in the United States.
A search for opposite symbol and keyword search for well-known symbols posted through the US channel ABC News on its YouTube channel on March 5, 2024 (archived link).
According to the video’s title, it is about a “fire explosion at a vaping distribution business in Michigan that killed a 19-year-old 400 meters away. “
Below is a comparison screenshot of the symbol taken from the fake post (left) and the ABC News YouTube channel (right):
ABC News attributed the video to user John Versace.
AFP later learned that he had shared the video on Instagram with the caption: “Huge chimney in a building in Clinton Township. “
The Clinton Township Police Department released a report on March 5, 2024, referencing the fireplace in an advertising building called Select Distributors (links archived here and here).
AFP found that Google Street View matched the location of the filming indicated (link archived).
CBS News quoted a local fireplace leader as saying that a fireplace had butane canisters to explode in the warehouse (link archived).