Posts falsely claim that the explosion in Indonesia’s kitchen was “caused by a mobile phone.”
Footage of a gas cylinder explosion in Indonesia in June 2024 caused by a loose hose has resurfaced in Sri Lankan social media posts falsely claiming the explosion was triggered by a mobile phone. Indonesian media quoted the homeowner as saying the accident happened because the cylinder was not properly connected to the gas stove, and police said the stove was not in use at the time of the accident.
“Do not keep your mobile phones near gas cylinders,” said a Facebook post in Sinhala on July 8.
“Share this video with your loved ones as often as possible. Be aware,” the caption continued, before Repeating the false claim in Tamil.
The image was shared with a similar false claim here, here and here.
However, a gas explosion caused by a mobile phone cannot be seen in the video.
‘Loose hose’
A reverse image search found an image showing the scene from the fake video published in a report by the Indonesian portal Kompas.com on June 7, 2024 (archived link).
According to the report, a three-kilogram liquefied gas cylinder exploded in a house in Jakarta on June 6, leaving a woman with a minor leg injury.
The homeowner suspects the explosion was caused by the gas cylinder not being properly connected, the report said. Indonesian police told the news agency that the stove was not in use at the time of the accident.
Below you can see a screenshot comparison of the fake post (left) and the image published by Kompas.com (right):
The same video was shared here by an Indonesian Instagram account on June 7, 2024. According to the post, the explosion was caused by a leak in a gas cylinder.
In the bottom right corner of the clip, June 6, 2024 can be seen, which matches the date of the accident reported by local media. The time is just after 6 a.m., as highlighted in the image below:
Below you can see a screenshot comparison of the video in the fake posts (left) and the clip from the Indonesian Instagram account (right):
AFP had previously debunked another false claim in Indonesia about gas cylinders after local media reported on the same kitchen explosion in Jakarta.
