A video has been viewed tens of thousands of times in Facebook and YouTube posts that claim that it is live footage of a volcano eruption on New Zealand’s White Island.
The claim is false; the footage has actually been taken from a simulation video of an undersea volcanic eruption shown at a museum in New Zealand.
The two-minute video, shared on Facebook here where it has been viewed some 30,000 times, shows an underwater volcano erupting and spewing ash and smoke which engulfs an inhabited coastal area.
The misleading Facebook post was uploaded December 16, 2019 with a caption saying: “Live volcano eruption in White Island of New Zealand. To start, have patience, wait for 8 to 10 seconds. After the eruption, in total darkness, wait for about 20 seconds, to see it clear up again😨😨😨.”
On December 9, 2019, New Zealand’s White Island volcano — a popular tourist destination — erupted, killing 18 people.
White Island, also known as Whakaari, is New Zealand’s most continuously active and largest volcano.
A reverse image search and a subsequent keyword search on Google found the same video published on October 12, 2017 on the official YouTube channel of the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
The archived version of the now-removed video can be seen here. The museum reuploaded the video here on December 18, 2019.
Brandspank, the New Zealand-based communication agency that created the video, had earlier published the video here on October 2, 2011, on video-sharing platform Vimeo.
The video is titled: “Auckland Museum Volcanic Eruption”.
The video is captioned: “This projected sequence was designed to simulate a window view in a purpose built set of an Auckland lounge room. High end 3D technologies and particle effects were combined with a background plate creating a realistic rendering of a catastrophic event. The result? Happy client, frightened children, de-valued waterfront property.”
Auckland Museum Volcanic Eruption from Brandspank on Vimeo.
