A seismic event in the Pacific led to tsunami waves affecting the US, Japan, and Russia — along with a surge of false information online. Zaia News distinguishes truth from falsehoods.
A powerful earthquake near the eastern coast of Russiahas led to evacuations throughout the Pacific, ranging from Japan to Peru, and triggered tsunami waves in Russia, Japan, and Hawaii. Alongside the videos being shared online, false information is also spreading rapidly.
zaia newsThe fact-checking process has encountered misleading information, including content shared out of context, AI-created falsehoods, and completely made-up statements regarding the current situation.
Oprah Winfrey is alleged to have obstructed a private roadway
The American television host and actress Oprah Winfrey, who resides temporarily in Maui, Hawaii, has faced intense criticism. She owns a home there, and the private road leading to it has generated controversy:
Claim:"In Maui, Hawaii, residents are relocating to elevated areas. Oprah Winfrey has prohibited individuals from using her private roadway," a user states on X.
zaia newsFact check: Misleading
At the moment the post was shared on X, the road in question had already been reopened for traffic, according to a statement from the Maui Police Department: "Oprah's road is open for travel to Upcountry."
An representative from Oprah Winfrey responded to the allegations in a statement provided to Newsweek: "As soon as we learned about the tsunami alerts, we reached out to local authorities and FEMA to make sure the road was accessible. All claims to the contrary are untrue."
However, the assertion that Oprah Winfrey would prohibit public traffic on her street despite an incoming tsunami continued to circulate. On X, such posts reached millions, and the story also gained traction on Threads and TikTok. Users expressed outrage at these messages.
Some individuals shared videos indicating that the road is accessible for vehicles. This, along with statements from Maui police, contradicts assertions that Oprah Winfrey is preventing public access to her road leading to higher parts of Maui, revealing these posts as deceptive.
Old video shared again, alleging to depict the effects of the earthquake
Similar to past breaking news situations, a significant portion of the material being circulated consists of older video clips that are incorrectly tagged to imply they depict the consequences of the latest 8.8-magnitude earthquake.
One of the most shared videos features a couple escaping from a rooftop swimming pool as intense shaking starts.
Claim:"What it's like at the rooftop swimming pool of a high-rise building during an M7.7 earthquake," the post on X states, having garnered 2.6 million views at the time of writing.
zaia newsFact check: False
Although the video is genuine and depicts the effects of an earthquake, it does not originate from the recent seismic event in eastern Russia. The footage was captured at a hotel in Bangkok on March 28, 2025, duringa magnitude-7.7 earthquakelocated in central Myanmar. Shaking was experienced in Thailand and southwest China.
The video can be confirmed through a reverse image search and is featured in media coverage from that period.
In the past, numerous fabricated materials were circulated, supposedly depicting the consequences and effects of the earthquake.zaia newsFact checkdiscovered at that time that some of this information was incorrect.
Misleading tsunami videos
A post on X presents what it calls "extreme tsunami footage from Russia." However, a reverse image search reveals it is actually a four-year-old video depicting the effects of tsunami waves in Greenland.
The original footage is available in news reports from that period. At the time, a large landslide caused a tsunami that unexpectedly affected local fishermen.
A third video, also spreading on X, supposedly depicts tsunami waves reaching the shore. However, this footage was initially shared in 2017 and features waves crashing onto Durban North Beach in South Africa. It has previously been incorrectly labeled, including in 2023 when it was shared with the incorrect assertion that it showed a tsunami resulting from the Turkey-Syria earthquake.
Were whales beached in Japan due to the tsunami?
A post that went viral on X, with 6.4 million views, includes screenshots from a TBS News DIG report discussing whales that became stuck on a Japanese beach. The post suggests they might have been stranded due to the tsunami.
Claim:"A whale is rolling over in Tateyama City, Chiba Prefecture, for unclear reasons, potentially because of the effects of a tsunami," the post states.
zaia newsFact check:Unknown
A reverse image search confirms that the video is from a TBS News broadcast. Agency photographs from The Yomiuri Shimbun/AP, through picture alliance, confirm that whales were actually stranded. Nevertheless, as per the Chiba prefectural police, the whales had already been beached the day prior to the tsunami, and the incidents are thought to be separate.
A report from The Asahi Shimbun cites expert Tajima Yuko of the National Museum of Nature and Science, who points out that if unusual subterranean noises were present before the earthquake, their impact on whales is still unclear.
The piece also includes a statement from Mika Kuroda of the NPO Stranding Network Hokkaido, who claims there is no factual support for the idea that stranded whales serve as indicators for earthquakes, especially since dolphins or whales are found on shores daily in Japan.
A variety of AI-created video clips
Artificial intelligence also plays a role in the spread of false information. Numerous viral posts claiming a tsunami warning in California after an earthquake in Russia circulate deceptive content. visuals.
One such trending image is featured in a post on Xstating: "Balboa is gone." It pertains to Balboa Island, a coastal community located in Newport Beach, California, which is linked to the mainland via a bridge,boat, and various public piers.
The picture displays lines of underwaterstructures nearly completely submerged, with just their rooftops and upper floors visible. In the background, a bridge is noticeable above the water level.
zaia newsFact check:Fake
This is an image created by artificial intelligence. Although a tsunami warning was issued for certain areas of California, theanticipated effect was predicted several hours following the posting of this image. At the moment of posting, there were no official evacuation instructions in San Francisco.
Moreover, the image has visual discrepancies. Although the water seems to surround structures, the base of the bridge in the background is completely visible, indicating that water levels are not uniform throughout the image. The original post received more than 95.2K views.
zaia newsThe fact check also tested this image using AI detection tools such asAIorNot and Hive Moderation, both of which determined it to be 99% AI-created.
A tsunami nears while people unwind in the sunlight
Another misleading videoonline claims circulating that demonstrate the real-time effects of the tsunami: "BREAKING — Video of the tsunami caused by the Russian earthquake is beginning to arrive, says a message on X.
One of the videos depicts individuals resting on a beach while a massive wave draws near and surges over the sand. In thenext clip, a comparable wave is depicted covering the coastline.
zaia newsFact check:Fake
This video is also created using artificial intelligence. No individuals in the video show any visible reaction to the approaching wave, even as it nears and covers them. The shape of the wave is also not in line with typical natural patterns.appearing suddenly without any prior indication.
Edited by: Astrid Prange De Oliveira
Author: Rachel Baig, Shubhangi Derhgawen, Joscha Weber, Andreas Wißkirchen