Video circulated showing solar eclipse is several years old
Video is over 4 years old and predates 2024 eclipse
CLAIM
A video widely circulated on social media on April 8 purports to show the solar eclipse that passed over the Americas on the same day.
BACKGROUND
On April 8, a video was widely circulated on multiple social platforms claiming to show the solar eclipse that passed over the Americas on the same day.
In one instance, the 27-second clip was posted to X (formerly Twitter) with the caption: “This is how #EclipseSolar2024 is looking. What a beautiful view of the Solar eclipse in #Eclipse2024.”
The clip was shared by dozens of other accounts the same day. Some posts did not claim it showed the solar eclipse on April 8, and only alluded to eclipses in general and described how this one may look similar.
But some uploaders claimed it showed the eclipse that took place on Monday, April 8, such as this 29-second example from TikTok, which features the same clip and has an onscreen caption reading: “solar eclipse 8/4/24”.
METHOD
Although most searchable examples of this clip being used were posted in recent days, a reverse-image search brings us to multiple examples of this clip being used prior to April 2024.
Many of the usages of this clip make no reference to a date or time of filming, and are posted as viral content to content aggregator profiles across various platforms.
The clip was used on October 15, 2023 in an online report on the English-language section of AS, one of the global editions of Spanish sports newspaper Diario AS. It was part of a compilation of clips that were packaged under the headline: “Watch: Some of the best videos of the 2023 annular solar eclipse”.
The subhead in the article read: “Sky gazers in North, Central and South America were treated to a stunning solar eclipse on Saturday. Check out some of the top videos of the event.” This was a reference to an annular solar eclipse that was visible on October 14 of last year.
However, searches indicated that the video predates even that.
A video uploaded to Dailymotion four years ago features the same clip, cropped into 16:9, along with the title: “Solar Eclipse Rare Seen In Karachi Pakistan”. There was an annular solar eclipse in Karachi in June 2020 and in December 2019.
Among the earliest examples of a version of this clip in use is a GIF, made from the video, posted to a Brazilian blog named Ñao Mesmo on July 5, 2019, along with the caption: “For those who missed it live, here it is.” The location was not given, although a total solar eclipse was visible over parts of South America on July 2, 2019.
From this analysis, we can conclude that the video dates back to at least 2019, and has no connection to the solar eclipse that was visible in the Americas on April 8, 2024.
RATING
The video is old and predates the most recent solar eclipse by several years.
SOURCES
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: This is how #EclipseSolar2024 is looking [Accessed 9 Apr. 2024].
Tiktok.com. (2024). TikTok – Make Your Day. [online] Available at: Solar Eclipse [Accessed 9 Apr. 2024].
Dailymotion. (2024). Solar Eclipse Rare Seen In Karachi Pakistan | Soraj Grehan Ka Nazara | AR Videos – video Dailymotion. [online]
Sánchez, M. and Allen, W. (2023). Watch: Some of the best videos of the 2023 annular solar eclipse. [online] Diario AS. Available at: https://en.as.com/videos/watch-some-of-the-best-videos-of-the-2023-annular-solar-eclipse-v/ [Accessed 9 Apr. 2024].
Cbsnews.com. (2019). Stunning photos of the ‘ring of fire’ solar eclipse. [online] Available at: https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/ring-of-fire-solar-eclipse-photos-2019/ [Accessed 9 Apr. 2024].
Bruno (2019). Você pesquisou por eclipse – Não Mesmo. [online] Não Mesmo. Available at: https://naomesmo.com.br/?s=eclipse [Accessed 9 Apr. 2024].
Guardian staff reporter (2019). Total solar eclipse: thousands in Chile and Argentina marvel at ‘something supreme’. [online] The Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/03/total-solar-eclipse-thousands-in-chile-and-argentina-marvel-at-something-supreme [Accessed 9 Apr. 2024].