What was claimed
A compilation video shows clips of a tsunami striking Russia in July 2025.
Our verdict
At least four of the 10 clips in this compilation have been previously identified as AI-generated and were shared prior to the recent tsunami. The other clips were also likely made using AI.
A widely-shared compilation video supposedly showing the impact of a tsunami triggered by a recent earthquake in Russia features clips that were made using artificial intelligence (AI).
The video, which has over 12,000 likes on Instagram, features a number of clips showing fast-flowing water engulfing riverside and seaside communities, some of which are left entirely submerged. An overlaid text reads: “Russia - 30/07/2025 The calm before absolute chaos.”
It is true that an 8.8 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula at the end of July 2025. One of the ten strongest earthquakes ever recorded, the incident led to tsunami warnings being issued in Russia, as well as Japan, the United States and a number of countries in South America.
However, the warnings were downgraded a few hours later and the level of destruction turned out to be less dramatic than expected. In particular, the Russian government reported no fatalities had occurred as a result of the earthquake or resultant waves.
This is at odds with clips in the video which show both cars and people being engulfed by huge waves.
AI-generated footage
Four of the 10 clips in the compilation have been previously identified as AI-generated and were shared prior to the recent tsunami.
These clips appeared in a video we fact checked last month, which falsely claimed they showed flash floods in Texas.
At the time Emmanuelle Saliba, chief investigative officer at the cybersecurity company GetReal Labs, and Rita Singh, research professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Security and Privacy Institute, both told Full Fact the footage was generated by AI.
There are also visual clues that the footage is AI-generated, and that the other clips which weren’t shared in the Texas video may also be AI. For example, they depict unrealistic actions of pedestrians who do not seem to react to the water and the movement of the water in some frames appears odd.
A number of other clips claiming to show large waves hitting the Russian coast and circulating on social media also appear to have been generated by AI.
It’s important to check whether shocking videos are genuine before sharing them on social media. As AI technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, it’s becoming harder to differentiate between real and fake content online. Our recent blog delved into what clues to look out for if you suspect something may have been created with AI.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as altered because this video includes clips which have been previously identified as AI-generated and which were shared before the recent Russian tsunami.
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