Following the Amejara sea tragedy, a video allegedly showing hazardous waves in Samal Island or Governor Generoso, Davao de Oro, has spread online.
The claim is FALSE, as there is no evidence that the footage originated from either locations.
MindaNews is fact-checking this item as several Facebook users have posted the content, seemingly capitalizing on views and monetization in the wake of the Amejara tragedy which sent at least sixteen passengers lost at sea.
The Philippine Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao (CGDSEM) has since recovered six bodies, while nine remain missing. Only one person survived.
The video can be traced as early as January 8 from a sailing video coming from one of two sources. We have not yet concluded whether it is generated by AI or not.
As of February 19, 2026, 11 a.m., the post has gathered 25.7K reactions, 2.7K comments, and 3K shares.
While there is a possibility that, with unpredictable waves in any waters, the waves in those areas could be similar to the video, this one is not of any of the two places.
We used a tool called InVid to look for the source of the video, by chopping it into keyframes or individual frames that can be reverse-image searched.
Each individual frame is clickable and leads to possible sources.
Our search led us not only to the shares of the false video, but also to two sailing videos that were posted at least a week before the Amejara incident.
It is uncertain whether the video is AI or not.
The earliest available video is dated January 8, 2026, uploaded by a Facebook account named Audy Indy with 63K followers.
As of February 19, 2026, the post has 46.1K reactions, 500 comments, and 954 shares.
Another video, posted January 9, also showed the same video, now posted by a Facebook page named Ray Preciado B, with 20k followers. The page is listed as a blogger.
The post garnered 13K reactions, 58 comments, and 648K views as of February 19, 2026.
The Amejara incident happened on January 19.
As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public for potential fact-check stories. (Alyssa Ilaguison / MindaNews)
