Image of monks clearing debris taken after 2010 China quake, not recent Tibet jolt

As rescue staff waded via rubble within the aftermath of a lethal earthquake in China’s distant Tibet area in January 2025, an image of Tibetan Buddhist monks clearing particles circulated in posts falsely linking it to the catastrophe. In truth, an AFP photographer took the image following a quake that struck China’s Yushu county in April 2010.

The picture appeared in a now-deleted January 8, 2025 put up on Douyin, the Chinese language model of TikTok. The simplified Chinese language caption learn: “When catastrophe strikes, I want solely peace for all beings #Shigatse #Peace.”

The put up surfaced in the future after Tibet’s rural, high-altitude Tingri county was struck by a robust earthquake that killed a minimum of 126 individuals and injured 188 others. Greater than 3,600 homes collapsed because of the quake, in line with Tibet’s Emergency Administration Division (archived right here).

Tingri is beneath the administration of the prefecture-level metropolis of Shigatse, dwelling to the normal seat of the Panchen Lama, probably the most vital non secular figures in Tibetan Buddhism after the Dalai Lama.

The China Earthquake Networks Heart (CENC) measured the quake’s magnitude as 6.8, whereas the US Geological Survey reported it as 7.1.

Taiwanese web site TNews included the image in an article in regards to the tremor. Related posts in English, Nepali and Tibetan shared the identical picture.

Nonetheless, an AFP photographer took the image greater than a decade in the past.

A reverse picture search, adopted by key phrase searches on Google, surfaced a full model of the photograph printed by American broadcaster NBC Information on April 14, 2010 (archived right here).

“Tibetan Buddhist monks clear particles whereas trying to find survivors amid a collapsed house block in Jiegu, China on Friday,” reads the caption on the image, credited to AFP photographer Frederic J. Brown.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck the Yushu area of the northwestern province of Qinghai, a predominantly Tibetan-inhabited area, on April 14, 2010. The quake flattened 1000’s of houses and left practically 2,700 individuals useless and a few 270 lacking, China’s state-run information company Xinhua reported on the time (archived hyperlink).

“Tibetan Buddhist monks clear particles whereas trying to find survivors amid a collapsed house block in Jiegu, Yushu County on April 16, 2010,” reads the caption on AFP’s photograph.

AFP has debunked misinformation in regards to the Tibet earthquake right here and right here.