Fact Check: Flooded supermarket clip filmed in New Zealand in January, not New York - Reuters
Fact Check: Flooded supermarket clip filmed in New Zealand in January, not New York | Reuters
Fact Check: Flooded supermarket clip filmed in New Zealand in January, not New York
A video of people wading through a flooded supermarket was filmed in New Zealand and featured in news reports in January this year. The clip is circulating with the false claim that it shows flooding in New York in September 2023.
New York was hit with flash flooding on Sept. 29 after torrential downpours, with almost eight inches falling in some parts of the city.
A video began circulating on social media showing people wading through an aisle of a flooded supermarket. The video pans left and an individual wearing a bright orange T-shirt can be seen pushing a small child who is seated atop a trolley, with others following behind.
One individual shared the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sept. 30 with a caption that reads: “#USA - People grocery shopping in knee high water during the apocalyptic flooding in New York City today. #NewYorkFlood #NYC #flood #WeatherAlert.”
The clip was not filmed in New York in September. The clip featured in news reports about flooding in New Zealand in late January.
The earliest iterations currently online were published on Jan 27 on TikTok. The accounts in question did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Per the news reports, the clip was filmed in Wairau, New Zealand.
The interior of the circulating online clip (R) (timestamp: 3s) matches a video uploaded to
Another side-by-side comparison shows identifiable features viewable in both the clip circulating online (timestamp: 0s) (R) and another clip uploaded by the supermarket on Facebook in December (L) (timestamp 10s).
On Jan. 27, the same day identified by the news reports, the supermarket posted on Facebook that the store was “temporarily closed due to flooding.”
The supermarket did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
VERDICT
Miscaptioned. The video was featured in news reports of flooding in New Zealand in late January, filmed in a supermarket in Auckland.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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