Video of explosion at Nova Kakhovka Dam is from 2022

Following the recent breaching of the Nova Kakhovka Dam, near Kherson in Ukraine, a video showing an attack on the dam has been shared hundreds of times on social media. 

The CCTV footage, which has also been shared a number of times on Facebook, shows the dam at night, before the screen suddenly flashes white. This is then followed by what appears to be at least two explosions, with clouds of debris clearly visible. 

Some of the posts we’ve seen are tagged “#Breaking” or “#BreakingNews”, suggesting  that this clip shows the moment that the dam, located in Russian-controlled southern Ukraine, was recently breached. (According to BBC reports, it’s not clear exactly when the dam was first damaged but there appears to have been “a change to the flow of water” on Tuesday 6 June.) Other posts don’t give any indication of when the incident occurred.

But the video circulating currently on social media is not recent. It was actually published widely in November 2022, after a separate incident at the Nova Kakhovka Dam. 

Evacuations are now underway in the Kherson region, with footage showing widespread flooding following the breaching of the dam. 

This is not the first time old footage has been used to make claims about the conflict in Ukraine. Full Fact has fact checked the use of a number of misleading videos in the past, including footage of an old Russian military parade and soldiers in Afghanistan in 2021—both claimed to be of the current situation in Ukraine. 

False or misleading claims online have the potential to harm individuals, groups and democratic processes and institutions. Online claims can spread fast and far, and are difficult to contain and correct. 

Misleading images and videos are some of the most common kinds of misinformation we see online, but they can sometimes be hard to spot. It’s always worth checking if a picture shows what the post says it does before you share it—we have written a guide on how to do so here.