VERA Files
A Facebook (FB) page has posted a satellite image of the Philippines, implying that the recent three-day blackout in Panay was visible from space. This is fake. The photo was altered and it is not recent.
Posted on Jan. 3, the photo showed a satellite image of night lights in the country where Panay, comprising the provinces of Aklan, Capiz, Iloilo and Antique, was supposedly covered in darkness. It also bore a caption that read:
“Only Panay Island can relate.”
Reverse image search showed that the image was originally taken in 2016 by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Black Marble Project.
Panay, which is located in the western portion of Visayas, was also digitally removed from the satellite image to make it appear that it was taken during a massive power outage on the island.
NASA’s Black Marble Project, which captures night light images for scientific observations, has yet to release its composite data for 2024. The most recent satellite images available on its website were taken in 2012 and 2016
The misleading photo emerged at the height of widespread blackouts that affected Panay, Guimaras and some parts of Negros Occidental on Jan. 2 to 5.
The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said the blackout was caused by the emergency shutdown of seven power plants in the island which led to a loss of 452 megawatts of electricity in the Visayas grid.
Posted by FB page Tsismoso (created July 27, 2018 as Kapamilya World), the post has garnered a total of 3,086 interactions.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
