Claim: A video shows a mass funeral in Afghanistan following the recent earthquakes in the northeastern areas of the country.
Fact: The video is AI-generated, and previously circulated online in context of the deadly floods in Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year.
Following an earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, a video was shared online claiming to show a mass funeral procession in the province of Kunar.
Earthquake in Afghanistan
On Sunday 31 August, a powerful earthquake hit the mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan. As many as 800 people died, and 2,500 others were injured. Kunar was the most severely affected province. “Heavy rain, landslides and damaged roads made it difficult for relief teams to access the remote mountainous areas hit hardest by the quake,” CNN reported.
As of 4 September, at least 2,200 people were reported dead, according to a Taliban government spokesperson. On 5 September, “two powerful aftershocks struck eastern Afghanistan 12 hours apart, triggering fears of more deaths and destruction,” according to Reuters.
Survivors in the earthquake-prone region are struggling for necessities as the United Nations (UN) and other agencies warn of urgent shortages of food, medical supplies, and shelter. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has appealed for USD 4 million in funding.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check doubted the authenticity of the video due to several unusual features and signs of AI-generated content.
The people carrying the shrouded bodies appear to be merged with one another, and some people seem to be walking backwards. While some bodies look like they are merging together, a few coffins seem to be hovering mid-air. Oddly, a few people even appear to be carrying trees along the road.
When Soch Fact Check reverse-searched keyframes from the viral video to trace its origin, we found that it was first shared on 18 August 2025 in the context of floods in Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The video was captioned:
“Heartbreaking scene from Buner 💔😭 Hundreds carrying their loved ones on their shoulders… a moment of pain and unity. Prayers for all the victims 🙏😭.”
Most importantly, the TikTok post included the label “Creator labelled as AI-generated,” confirming that the footage does not represent real, authentic events.
Furthermore, a review of the creator’s recent posts on TikTok, such as here and here, showed that most of the content is AI-generated.
Finally, Soch Fact Check looked for news reports to verify whether a mass funeral was held in any of the earthquake-hit regions in Afghanistan but did not find any such reports. We also compared verified visuals from credible news outlets and their coverage of the post-earthquake funerals, but none of them matched the viral video.
Virality
The viral video was shared here, here, here, here, here, and here on Facebook. Archived here, here, here, here, here, and here.
On Instagram, it was shared here, here, here, here, and here. Archived here, here, here, here, and here.
Conclusion: The viral video is AI-generated.
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Background image in cover photo: Al Jazeera
To appeal against our fact-check, please send an email to appeals@sochfactcheck.com
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