Videos show volcano erupting in Iceland in 2021

Footage showing a volcanic eruption in Iceland in 2021 is being shared on social media with the implication it shows current events in the country, where scientists say there’s currently a high chance of an imminent eruption. 

The clips show people watching as lava erupts from a crater and flows down the side of a volcano. The videos have been shared in recent days across social media platforms, including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter)  and TikTok. 

However, these videos actually show the eruption of Iceland’s Fagradalsfjall volcano in March 2021. One of the clips appears in a compilation video posted on YouTube in July 2021 with the caption describing it as “raw footage from the 2nd day” of the eruption in March. The other clip was shared on Facebook in March 2021.  

There are lots of similar images and videos showing this eruption and its aftermath from different angles. 

In recent weeks, the Icelandic Met Office has reported there is a “high likelihood” of an eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, near to Fagradalsfjall, as an underground “magma corridor”, which stretches 15 kilometres (around nine miles), is moving closer to the surface. 

At the time of writing, live footage streaming from the region shows there has not yet been an eruption. 

Thousands of people have reportedly been evacuated in anticipation of the eruption following multiple small earthquakes.

Full Fact often sees videos and images showing natural disasters being miscaptioned. We’ve written about misinformation relating to the earthquake in Turkey and Syria in February, the Maui wildfires in August and the flooding in Libya in September. 

It’s always worth checking if social media images and videos show what the post says they do before you share them—we’ve written guides on how to do so here and here.

Image courtesy of Mokslo Sriuba