Claim: A montage of clips shows volcanic eruptions in the Philippines in 2026.
Fact: These visuals are unrelated to the volcanic activity in the Philippines in 2026. Some are from other regions whereas others are old and hence not connected to any recent volcanic activity in the region.
On 18 June, a Facebook user posted a montage of clips purportedly showing volcano eruption in the Philippines. The caption stated [translated from Urdu into English]: “Shocking scene of a massive volcano eruption in the Philippines caught on camera! The immense power of nature amazed the viewers.”
Screenshot of the FB post.
Plumes of ash and smoke rose from Mayon volcano on Luzon Island, Philippines due to lava deposits collapsing from its slopes in early May 2026, prompting emergency services to issue alerts to nearby areas.
It is important to note that the Mayon volcano on Luzon Island in the Philippines has been showing volcanic activity since January 2026. “On January 6, the alert level was increased to three on a five-level scale after lava began flowing from the crater and hot clouds of ash and debris called pyroclastic flows (also called pyroclastic density currents) moved down one side of the mountain,” according to NASA.
Therefore, this article only fact-checks some of the visuals that were falsely linked to volcanic activity in the region.
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check reverse-searched various keyframes from the clip and found that they are either old or unrelated to the Philippines.
First set of visuals (0:00 – 0:14)
This clip first surfaced online in August 2024, with social media posts and various publications linking it to a volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
An X account of Channel 4 News posted similar visuals of the eruption on 22 August 2024, with a caption stating:
“A group of hikers were captured by a drone scrambling down the side of Mount Dukono in Indonesia, after an active volcano erupted behind them. A local guide said they ignored a ban on entering the area and warned other climbers against making the perilous journey.”
Left: Clip circulating online in June 2026. Right: Same visuals from August 2024.
The New York Post published a clip showing the same scenes in an article titled “Panicked hikers scramble down mountain as they try to escape erupting volcano in Indonesia” on 21 August 2024.
Agencia EFE, a Spanish news agency, also posted visuals of the same volcano eruption on YouTube on 21 August 2024, with the title, “Climbers escape with their lives from the spectacular eruption of an Indonesian volcano.”
The description stated: “Halmahera Island (Indonesia), Aug 21 (EFE) – A group of climbers at the top of the Indonesian volcano Dukono (Halmahera Island, north of the archipelago) managed to save their lives in a frantic escape after being caught by a spectacular eruption last Saturday, the Disaster Relief Agency confirmed to EFE on Wednesday.”
The Independent also posted what appears to be a screenshot of the video on 22 August 2024, saying it occurred in Indonesia.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, concludes the first 14 seconds of the clip in question are from an old video that likely originated from Indonesia.
Second set of visuals (0:16 – 0:24)
Soch Fact Check found that these visuals are also old and likely not linked to the Philippines.
On 8 December 2025, a TikTok user posted a clip that appeared to match the scenes being factchecked. The description stated:
“Kīlauea showing its power this weekend. Would you watch this in person?
🌋 Credit: Nick Petelos.
#Kilauea #KilaueaVolcano #HawaiiVolcano #VolcanoEruption #LavaFlow #Hawaii #Volcanoes”.
For better comparison, the keyframes being fact-checked were flipped to match the angle of the TikTok video:
On the left is a screenshot from the clip circulating online in June 2026, which is similar to visuals posted on TikTok on 8 December 2025.
Nacion 321, a news platform from Mexico, posted an image in its article on 7 December 2025, which is similar to the keyframe being fact-checked.
Another publication also published a similar photo on 7 December 2025, stating that it showed “Exact Moment of the Kilauea volcano eruption in Hawaii, United States”.
An Instagram user also posted a video of the same eruption on 8 December 2025, and the caption also linked the footage to the Kilauea volcano in Hawaii.
Finally, Soch Fact Check found similar footage of this incident posted on Facebook on 8 December 2025.
Therefore, these visuals are also old and unrelated to the 2026 volcanic eruptions reported in the Philippines.
Third set of visuals (0:24 – 0:36)
These scenes have appeared online as early as December 2025.
A similar small section of this clip was posted on Facebook on 3 December 2025 with the caption, “#Amazing Some notable volcanic regions include the Pacific Ring of Fire and the Mid-Atlantic Region”. From 0:22 to 0:27, this clip matches the keyframes being fact-checked, indicating that it is old.
Left: clip from June 2026. Right: Video from December 2025.
Although Soch Fact Check cannot confirm the exact origin of these visuals, the fact that they appeared online as early as December 2025 confirms they predate the volcanic eruptions reported in the Philippines.
Scenes at 0:49
Reverse-searching these visuals suggests that they likely show the Kilauea eruption and hence are old and unrelated.
Scenes at 0:49 that are being fact-checked.
Soch Fact Check first found several stock images and videos on the website Magnific, an AI content platform which includes both authentic and AI-generated videos. The clips on this platform of the volcano eruption match the keyframe being fact-checked (shared above), as shown below:
Several stock videos on the website of Magnific website.
Details on one clip stated the following: “4K slow motion footage of Kīlauea eruption framed by foreground vegetation, with lava effusion and rising smoke visible beyond crater rim”. However, Soch Fact Check could not verify the date this clip was uploaded.
Video on the website of Magnific.
Further searches yielded other footage that likely depicts the same scenes of lava erupting as from January 2026.
A user uploaded footage of volcano eruptions on YouTube under the title, “2026 01 12 Kīlauea volcano, Hawaii V1, V2 and V3 cams @usgs” on 13 January 2026. At 5:48, we see visuals similar to the keyframe being fact-checked.
Screenshot of the YouTube video from 13 January 2026.
Another instance of similar scenes of the incident was posted on YouTube on 13 January 2026 with the title “Raw Kilauea Volcano Episode 40 January 12, 2026”.
AFP also posted footage of a volcano eruption resembling the visuals being fact-checked, titled “Lava flows as Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupts | AFP” on 13 January 2026.
The description stated: “Fresh lava fountains spew from Hawaii’s Kilauea, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, in its 40th eruption. The volcano has been very active since 1983 and erupts relatively regularly. It has been throwing out thousands of tonnes of molten rock and gases for over a year now since an eruption in December 2024.”
Although Soch Fact Check cannot confirm the exact origin of the footage, the fact that several posts and organizations like AFP are linking the footage to Hawaii indicates it is likely from that region and therefore, these visuals are likely unrelated to the Philippines.
Visuals from 0:56 – 0:59
These appeared online as early as April 2024. A TikTok account posted a clip on 7 April 2024, with the caption stating [translated from Vietnamese into English via Google Translate]: “Spectacular and amazing volcanic lava, so powerful it’s eye-opening!” Scenes at 0:06 match the relevant keyframes being fact-checked, confirming the video is old.
Left: video from June 2026. Right: same scenes on TikTok from April 2024.
Soch Fact Check, therefore, confirms that the clip is unrelated to any volcanic activity in the Philippines in 2026.
It is important to note that Soch Fact Check has not been able to verify visuals at 0:36, 1:02, and 1:07, but the fact that most of them were either old or unrelated confirms the claim is false.
Virality
These visuals were shared on Facebook at least eight times. One particular post garnered 300,000 views and received 2,800 reactions.
Screenshot of the viral Facebook post.
It also appeared on YouTube once.
Conclusion: The montages of clips from 0:00 to 0:14, from 0:16 to 0:24, from 0:24 to 0:36, 0:49 to 0:55 and from 0:56 to 0:59 are unrelated to the volcanic activity in the Philippines in 2026. Some are from other regions, whereas others are old, hence not connected to any volcanic activity in the region in 2026.
Moreover, Soch Fact Check has not been able to verify visuals at 0:36, 1:02, and 1:07, but the claim has been labelled false as most of the clips were either old or unrelated to the recent incident.
Background image in cover photo: Inquirer.net
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