{"id":2024,"date":"2017-08-13T16:31:00","date_gmt":"2017-08-13T16:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?p=2024"},"modified":"2022-03-02T11:09:48","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T11:09:48","slug":"did-a-large-rock-fall-onto-the-antrim-coast-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/economy\/did-a-large-rock-fall-onto-the-antrim-coast-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Did a large rock fall onto the Antrim coast road?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This claim is inaccurate. The image is a cropped version of one published in a local American newspaper, reporting on a rock fall that took place in Lawrence County, Ohio, on 10 April 2015.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A rock fall on the Antrim coast road?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 9 August 2017<\/a>, and then again on 9 August 2021<\/a>, Jim Owens of Belfast published a Facebook post about a rock falling onto the Antrim coast road:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Owens said, \u201cI had to brake hard after a roadrunner and coyote passed me at speed\u201d, which is a reference to the cartoon characters<\/a> by Warner Brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many people commenting on the 2017 post took it at face value, some expressing their thankfulness that they habitually avoided the coast road with its failing rocks triangular warning signs and used the overland route instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few people questioned whether it was true, one noted that it hadn\u2019t been mentioned on news bulletins, while another pointed out that the road markings looked unfamiliar. But it was three and a half days after the original post \u2014 656 shares later \u2014 that someone finally debunked the post saying: \u201cThis is a fake photo it happened in Ohio usa\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Heard this one before<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Google Image search<\/a> revealed the following Facebook post<\/a> by Gabi Butler, published on 15 July 2015 (over two years earlier); she also made a reference to a roadrunner and coyote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The image in Owen\u2019s posting appears as a cropped version of Butler\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A real rock fall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further Google image research revealed the original source of the image, from a rockfall in Lawrence County, Ohio on 10 April 2015, published in The Highland County Press<\/a> (image by Ohio Department of Transportation, District 9):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Submitting this Highland County Press image to FotoForensics<\/a> revealed no discernible image manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making false news more believable<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

FactCheckNI contacted Owens, who acknowledged the posting was made up from him cropping an image and \u201cdidn\u2019t have a clue\u201d where the image came from. He also quipped, \u201cFalse news should be a bit more believable to be taken seriously!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The claim is false: this image is for a rock fall that happened in Ohio on 10 April 2015. There was no rock fall on the Antrim coast road reported elsewhere. The author of the claim appears to have recycled the image from another Facebook posting (and applied a crop to it). While many saw a humorous intent, some took the posting at face value. Using Google image search quickly revealed this image being published previously and in an authoritative context. Furthermore, the image published by a local newspaper does not appear to have been an altered version. Finally, the author of the original posting acknowledged that he created this piece of \u201cfalse news\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

FactCheckNI is Northern Ireland\u2019s first and only dedicated independent fact-checking service and a verified signatory<\/a> to the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles<\/a>. You can learn more about about FactCheckNI<\/a>, our personnel<\/a>, what our article verdicts<\/a> mean, and how to submit a claim<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This claim is inaccurate. The image is a cropped version of one published in a local American newspaper, reporting on a rock fall that took place in Lawrence County, Ohio, on 10 April 2015. A rock fall on the Antrim coast road? On 9 August 2017, and then again on 9 August 2021, Jim Owens…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[170],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nDid a large rock fall onto the Antrim coast road? - FactCheckNI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/economy\/did-a-large-rock-fall-onto-the-antrim-coast-road\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Did a large rock fall onto the Antrim coast road? - FactCheckNI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This claim is inaccurate. 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