WASHINGTON — Many things remain unknown after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday morning. Two people were rescued from the Patapsco River, but officials said at least six remained unaccounted for as of Tuesday evening.
Some information may not reveal itself for days, weeks, or even months. Unfortunately, that can allow misinformation to spread online by people yearning for answers.
Here are three claims that circulated quickly and widely after the tragic collapse.
CLAIM
A viral video claiming to show the bridge collapse from the perspective of a car entering the bridge shows a large explosion
SOURCES
- Forensic analysis using Google Images
- Radio Free Europe
- The Associated Press
ANSWER
The bridge in the viral video shows an explosion that occurred a year and a half ago on the other side of the world.
WHAT WE FOUND
Videos of the impact that caused the bridge to fall quickly spread online and via the news. Hundreds of feet of bridge fell into the water and onto the cargo ship that struck one of its support piers.
Millions of people have seen another video on X and TikTok, purporting to show a second angle of the bridge collapse. The other video shows the perspective of a driver about to enter the bridge and also shows a large explosion.
Using forensic analysis and reverse image searches, we found that the video was originally posted online in October 2022. News sources such as Radio Free Europe and the Associated Press published the video and said it showed an attack on the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to Russian-controlled Crimea.
CLAIM
The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge should be investigated as an act of terrorism.
SOURCES
ANSWER
All evidence points to an accident being the cause of the collision that brought down the bridge.
WHAT WE FOUND
Many people have used X, formerly known as Twitter, to suggest that the collapse of the bridge was a terrorist attack.
Former kickboxer Andrew Tate said as much to his nine million followers, while millions more people saw posts from other users blaming terrorism for the tragedy.
Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley spoke about that claim at a press conference Tuesday morning.
“There is absolutely no indication," he stated, "that there is any terrorism, that this was done on purpose our criminal intel is working with the FBI and other federal and state agencies to get all the intel that we have but there's absolutely no indication it was intentional ”
Gov. Wes Moore (D-Maryland) said the same when speaking with reporters later in the morning.
CLAIM
A photo shows a car that fell into the Patapsco River
SOURCES
- Reverse image search using Google Images
- BBC News
- The Belfast Telegraph
- Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service
ANSWER
The photo in question showed a car crash in Northern Ireland more than two years ago.
WHAT WE FOUND
A photo of a grey car, halfway submerged in water with its doors open, started spreading online early Tuesday morning. It was posted as part of a plea to help a man find his missing brother and shared with hundreds of thousands of people in descriptions of the moments surrounding the bridge collapse.
A reverse image search showed that the photo appeared in articles from the BBC and the Belfast Telegraph on January 1, 2022. They say the photos show a car that had driven into the water near Dungiven, a small town in Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service took the photo, and it--and other photos from the scene--remains on the agency's Facebook page. Subsequent photos show a rescue team in the water, and the Facebook post says all people in the car were accounted for. The articles by the BBC and Belfast Telegraph report that a man was the only occupant of the car and that he had no serious injuries.