Nighttime clip of flares and ammunition was not filmed ahead of Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan
Nighttime clip of flares and ammunition was not filmed ahead of Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan
(Reuters) - A clip of military exercises filmed at night was not taken ahead of U.S. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan on Aug. 2, 2022.
The clip opens with a view of two individuals, one standing beside a motorcycle with the other seated on the vehicle, looking outward towards the sea. Flares can be seen out at sea, with what appears to be rounds of ammunition shot from the left of view.
One user shared the clip via Twitter on July 30, 2022, with a caption that reads: “BREAKING: China welcomes Pelosi with fireworks #China #Taiwan #Pelosi #WW3 #War” (here).
Another individual who shared the clip on the same date via TikTok, with text printed across the video calling it the “current situation” in the South China Sea (here). The clip gathered more than 200,000 views at the time of writing.
A user who shared the video on Facebook said: “China practices live fire exercises as Polosi [sic] nears Asia #china #taiwan #WW3” (here).
Other examples of the claim shared on social media can be found (here), (here).
The clip is not recent, however, and dates to at least November 2020, when it was uploaded to Chinese social media by a Weibo user (weibo.com/5564927603/JtHwJaMd0). An archived version of the Weibo post can be viewed (archive.ph/bmbOy).
Per the description of the Weibo post, the clip was filmed on the Matsu Islands, Taiwan. Reuters geolocated the clip to a road headed to Fuxing Village in Nangan Township, Matsu Islands, with road markings and the bamboo crash barriers that can be seen in the clip matching street view (approx. 26.166374, 119.950633) (bit.ly/3PWs8ln).
The bamboo crash barriers can be seen throughout various parts of the island, with another example viewable (bit.ly/3BBjkgj).
The Weibo clip is spliced at the 48-second mark, with another angle of the ammunition rounds viewable. This particular clip was also uploaded to Twitter in November 2020 and can be seen (here).
Taiwanese media outlet RTI also shared a clip in November 2020 of military drills on Matsu Islands (bit.ly/3zRVGLl).
Pelosi touched down late on Aug. 2, 2022, in Chinese-claimed Taiwan, the highest-level U.S. visit in 25 years (here).
VERDICT
Miscaptioned. A clip filmed at nighttime showing flares and rounds of ammunition along a coastline was not filmed in 2022 ahead of Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. The clip dates to at least November 2020 on the Matsu Islands during a military exercise.
