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Wasi Mirza

With the rise of social media and generative AI, how much of what we see online is true? In this new series, SCMP Fact-Check, the Post investigates claims circulating online and debunks viral misinformation impacting the daily lives of Hongkongers.
As Hong Kong was battered by torrential rain in August, various clips circulated online misleadingly attributed to the extreme weather events.
One was a Facebook reel, uploaded on August 5, 2025, that appeared to show the flooded interior of an MTR station.
The words “Black rain storm in Hongkogn [sic] today” were superimposed on the video.
In a different Facebook post published on the same day, a video showed a street at night partially submerged in water. It cited “black rain” as the cause.
The footage was shared online in the wake of an 11-hour black rainstorm warning that day, the second-longest in the city’s history.

Together, the videos racked up more than 13,000 views and were shared in similar posts here and here.
However, both clips have been seen online since at least September 2023.
Wong Tai Sin MTR station flooded
A Google reverse image search on the first video found an image dated September 7, 2023, on Wikimedia Commons that corresponds to one of the frames.
The file’s description reads in Chinese: “A large amount of rainwater poured into the lobby of the Wong Tai Sin MTR station entrance-and-exit stairs and escalators, causing flooding in the lobby.”
The page also lists a video uploaded on YouTube by state-run media outlet China News Service (CNS) as the source. The footage in the misleading posts corresponds to the 1:14 mark of the CNS clip.
Below is a screenshot comparing the footage in the misleading posts with the CNS video.

Hong Kong street submerged
A reverse image search run on the second video found it used in a report by the Daily Express US, published on September 8, 2023.
“The heaviest rain in Hong Kong’s recorded history, spanning 140 years, wreaked havoc on Friday,” the report reads.
A keyword search with this information found that the location was Wan Tsui Road in Hong Kong’s Chai Wan.
A Post photographer took a separate picture of the flooded street in 2023.

Below is a screenshot comparing the footage in the misleading posts with the one from the Daily Express.

Both of the videos in the misleading posts circulated in September 2023 as Hong Kong experienced massive rainfall, triggering the city’s longest black rainstorm warning to date, which lasted over 16 hours.
Their existence in 2023 means they are not tied to the downpours in 2025.
SCMP Fact-Check has reached out to the Facebook account owners for comment.
Verdict: Misleading
Seen something suspicious online? Tell us on factcheck@scmp.com.


Temperature in Hong Kong to drop to 14 degrees and remain cool till midweek

Chilly weekend ahead for Hong Kong as temperatures set to hit 15 degrees

Hong Kong registers a low of 13.2 degrees Celsius, coldest so far this autumn

Hong Kong registers low of 13.2 degrees Celsius, coldest so far this autumn

Hong Kong weather

‘Videos from Hong Kong’s 2025 rainstorm’ actually show downpour in 2023

A screenshot of the two reels side by side with lines drawn by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

Pedestrians brave the rain under a black rainstorm warning at Hill Road in Hong Kong’s Shek Tong Tsui, August 14, 2025. Photo: Karma Lo

A screenshot of the footage in the misleading posts (left) with the CNS video (right), with similar features highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A Post photograph of the engulfed Chai Wan street on September 8, 2023. Photo: Dickson Lee

A screenshot showing the video in the misleading posts (left) with the one from 2023 (right), with similar features highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/Daily Express US/SCMP Composite

Video of people struggling in Typhoon Wipha winds filmed in Zhuhai, not Hong Kong

A screenshot of the video posted on Facebook with lines crossed through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A composite of the video in the misleading posts (left) with the video on MSN (right). Photo: Facebook/MSN/SCMP Composite

A composite showing scenes from the video in the misleading posts (left) with an image from Google Maps (right), with similar elements highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/Google/SCMP Composite

A composite showing the name of the club visible in AccuWeather’s video (left) compared to a video filmed at the same location (right). Photo: AccuWeather/YouTube/SCMP Composite

Photo from 2022 shared online as depicting July fire on Air India plane leaving Hong Kong

An Air India Airbus A320 aircraft. Photo: NurPhoto via Getty Images

A screenshot of the misleading Facebook post with lines crossed through. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A composite image showing the misleading Facebook post (left) with a frame from the OTV report (right). Photo: Facebook/OTV/SCMP composite

SCMP Fact-Check

Illustration: Victor Sanjinez

News

Hong Kong

Society

This photo of firefighter rescuing cat is not from Hong Kong’s Tai Po blaze

A screenshot of the post with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Instagram/SCMP Composite

A composite showing the image in the misleading posts (left) with the one from the report (right). Photo: Hong Kong Animal Post/SCMP Composite

A composite of the image in the misleading online posts (left) with the one from HK01 (right). Photo: Instagram/HK01/SCMP Composite

Video of ‘firefighters in Hong Kong’ actually shows blaze in Chile in 2024

Screenshot of the misleading Facebook reel with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

Screenshot of the Facebook reel with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A composite image showing scenes from the Facebook reel (left) and the one uploaded by GoPro (right). Photo: Facebook/GoPro/SCMP Composite

AI-generated scenes ‘from France’s 2025 Louvre heist’ circulate in Hong Kong

A screenshot of different points in the Facebook reel showing the two fabricated videos of the heist. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

Instances of morphed hands (left) and a disappearing crowbar (right) highlighted in the two fabricated videos. Photo: Facebook/Composite via AI Forensics

Instances of the Sora watermarks in both videos. Photo: Facebook/Composite via AI Forensics

A comparison of the entrance of the gallery in the fabricated video (left) with an image of the genuine Apollo Gallery (right). Photo: Facebook/Louvre/SCMP Composite

A comparison of the roof structure and artwork from the fabricated video (left) and the genuine Louvre gallery (right). Photo: Facebook/Louvre/SCMP Composite

This video does not show Hongkonger knocked over during Super Typhoon Ragasa

A screenshot from a video inaccurately linked to Super Typhoon Ragasa in Hong Kong. Photo: Facebook/SCMP composite

A screenshot of the reel with lines drawn through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP composite

A composite image comparing a key frame from the Facebook reel (left) with the video from ViralBear (right), with similar scenes highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/ViralBear/SCMP composite

Video ‘from fatal Air India crash in June’ actually shows Hong Kong airport

Parts of an Air India plane that crashed on June 12 are seen on top of a building in Ahmedabad, India. Photo: AP

Screenshot of the false post with lines crossed through by the Post. Photo: Facebook/SCMP Composite

A screenshot showing similar scenes from the video (left) and the photo on Alamy (right), with similar areas highlighted by the Post. Photo: Facebook/Alamy/SCMP composite

A screenshot of a frame from the video (left) and satellite imagery (right), with similar features highlighted by SCMP. Photo: Facebook/Google/SCMP Composite

‘SCMP report’ claiming Hongkongers ‘will receive income from taxes’ is fake

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, pictured during an interview on June 20, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Wong

A screenshot of the article crossed through by the Post. Photo: Handout/SCMP composite

Some clips purportedly from August’s extreme weather have been online for almost two years


Some clips purportedly from August’s extreme weather have been online for almost two years.


China

The Washington Post

China News Service

Fact-Check

.css-sioo19{color:#c79a00;}Fact-Check | ‘Videos from Hong Kong’s 2025 rainstorm’ actually show downpour in 2023

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Some clips purportedly from August’s extreme weather have been online for almost two years

Fact-Check | ‘Videos from Hong Kong’s 2025 rainstorm’ actually show downpour in 2023

Some clips purportedly from August’s extreme weather have been online for almost two years