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FactCheck
Debunked: A drone image of lightning striking the Poolbeg towers has been digitally altered
The chimney stacks were hit by lightning yesterday, but this widely shared image has been doctored.
YESTERDAY’S THUNDERSTORM WAS widely documented on social media, with photos and videos of lightning bolts being shared on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
One such photo appears to show lightning striking the Poolbeg Generating Station, or the Stacks as they’re known, in Dublin.
The photo, which appears to have been taken by a drone, was widely shared on Twitter by awestruck users. It’s an aerial shot of the South Wall, and the Poolbeg Lighthouse on the end of the wall. A bolt of lightning can be seen striking the Stacks in the background.
(dublincityshots on Instagram) took this photo of lightning hitting Poolbeg today and I think it’s one of the greatest Dublin shots ever taken 🌩️ Deserves to win photo of the year @IrishTimes pic.twitter.com/uBpTjnqYuG
— Grainne Blair (@GrainneBlair) July 19, 2022
What a pic this is, lightning hitting Poolbeg today 🌩️⚡️ @dublincityshots pic.twitter.com/60Y6xqwWV0
— BenchWarmers (@BeWarmers) July 19, 2022
If Carlsberg did photography 🙌🏻 Greatest shot of all time @DublinCityShots Poolbeg pic.twitter.com/DFnBdlyTCP
— Niamh Begley (@NIAMHBL) July 20, 2022
It’s a fairly breathtaking image – but it’s doctored.
The Stacks were hit by forked lightning yesterday afternoon – several people, including Dr Roger McMorrow, captured the weather event on camera.
The photo was posted yesterday by @dublincityshots on Instagram, but after it was widely shared on Twitter, some users pointed out that it bore a considerable resemblance to another photo posted by the same account in November 2021.
— John Barrington (@BarringtonJF) July 20, 2022
The composition of the sky is different in the two images, and the photo supposedly showing the lightning bolt is brighter – but by zooming in on the end of the South Wall and the lighthouse, it’s clear they are the same.
A number of people are dotted around the end of the South Wall – a few at the base of the lighthouse, two sitting on a ledge on the left-hand side of the circular path and three behind the lighthouse, further down the walkway.
Their positioning, and what you can make out of their clothes, are identical in the two images.
The first hashtag on the Instagram post is #composit [sic] – a composite image is made up of several images edited together.
What’s more, a reverse image search for the photo shows it first appeared online in 2017.
The original photo, posted on @dublincityshots in November 2021, has been edited to alter the sky and insert a lightning bolt.
While the Stacks were hit by lightning yesterday, this particular photo is DEBUNKED.
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