The image surfaced days after 48 people were killed when the Meilong expressway in southern China’s Guangdong province collapsed on May 1, 2024 following days of heavy rain.
Over 20 vehicles careened into a nearly 18-metre-long (60-foot) gash in the tarmac and plummeted down the steep slope below, in what Chinese state media called a “natural geological disaster”.
Guangdong, a densely populated industrial powerhouse in southern China, was hit by a string of disasters attributed to extreme weather events that month.
Similar claims about the poor build of the highway circulated with the same photo on Facebook and X and in an article by Taiwanese news outlet Newtalk.
But the cause of the disaster is being investigated, according to a May 4 report by state broadcaster CCTV that said the Guangdong Provincial Government had formed a response team (archived link).
Meanwhile, a reverse image search on Google found the photo shared in the false posts predates the Guangdong highway collapse.
Old road collapse
AFP found the photo shared in false posts in a report by Chinese state news agency Xinhua from June 16, 2011 (archived link).
The news report is titled: “Landslide disrupts traffic on Hangxinjing Highway” — referring to a road in China’s eastern Zhejiang province.
According to the photo caption, the picture shows part of the highway on June 15, 2011 after it collapsed.
The landslide affected 80 metres (260 feet) of highway, although no casualties were reported, Xinhua said.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo used in the false posts (left) and Xinhua’s photo (right):
The photo from Xinhua shows a building that corresponds to one from the same highway stretch in Zhejiang as seen in Baidu Map.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo published by Xinhua (left) and an image from Baidu Map (right) with the building highlighted:
David Turner is a globe-trotting journalist who brings a global perspective to our readers. With a commitment to shedding light on international events, he explores complex geopolitical issues, offering a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
