Claim: A video shows raindrops falling onto a body of water, progressively getting closer to the person filming, as a downpour starts. The caption accompanying the clip suggests the video was taken in Karachi, Pakistan.
Fact: The video was, in fact, shot at Aheru Lake in Valgamaa, Estonia on 19 July 2022 by Priitin Rebane, who posted the clip on their TikTok account @rebanepriitin, formerly @user5866672348153.
On 27 July 2022, Twitter user @WeatherWupk shared a video of raindrops falling onto a body of water as a heavy downpour starts. The video was captioned as follows:
“Beautiful Scene of Rainbands Marching
Karachi Doppler / Weather Updates PK”
@WeatherWupk usually adds “Karachi Doppler / Weather Updates PK” to their tweets when the picture or the video clip is shared on their Facebook group ‘Karachi Doppler’. Many social media users thus appeared to believe that the video was shot in Karachi.
Fact or Fiction?
Using reverse image tools, Google Lens, and certain keywords, we found that the video was shared by Twitter user @TheFigen, a Turkish teacher who shares “#funny #cool and #humour videos”, at 4:39 PM on 26 July 2022. @TheFigen’s tweet linked back to @arsivbiltek, the original poster who first shared the video in question at 2:13 PM on 25 July 2022.
The video was also shared on Reddit here and here, with the first post captioned, “Wenn der Regen kommt (Twitter-Fundstück)” or “When the Rain Comes (Twitter find).” The Reddit posts linked back to @TheFigen.
One comment on social media claimed the clip was shared by ViralHog, a platform where people can buy and sell viral videos. We found the clip on the ViralHog website, where it was credited to a ‘Priitin Rebane’.
Our search also turned up a post by Facebook page ‘Golden Horseshoe Outdoors Club’, shared at 7:21 AM on 23 July 2022. It contained the link to a TikTok video posted by @user5866672348153, now @rebanepriitin.
We reached out to Priitin Rebane via Facebook Messenger and asked them if they shot the video themselves, where it was filmed, and when it was recorded.
Rebane told Soch Fact Check they shot the video at 9:26 PM on 19 July 2022 at Aheru Lake in the Ringiste municipality in Valgamaa (also known as Valga County), Estonia. They also shared a screenshot of a Snapchat image, which corresponds with the scene depicted in the video and provides relevant details.
Virality
Soch Fact Check conducted a CrowdTangle analysis for the three-day period from 25 to 28 July 2022 using the search terms, “rainbands marching.”
The search turned up three posts that garnered 3,283 interactions on Facebook, including the one by Weather Updates PK, which was posted at 5:38 PM on 27 July and viewed over 60,000 times. Other posts can be seen here and here.
Conclusion: A video shared by Twitter account @WeatherWupk appears to depict the onset of heavy rainfall in Karachi, Pakistan. In fact, the video was shot on 19 July 2022 by Priitin Rebane at Aheru Lake in Estonia’s Valgamaa (Valga County). Rebane posted the clip on their TikTok account @rebanepriitin.