Original article (in Slovenian) was published on 26/4/2024; Author: Žan Premrov
A Slovenian political party’s local chapter shared a video alleging that a fire was sparked by an electric vehicle. However, it was later clarified that the vehicle in the video was not electric, and the fire did not originate from the vehicle itself.
On 15 April, the Democratic Party’s (SDS) local chapter in Cirkulane, Slovenia, posted a video on Facebook showing a fire in a residential building, falsely claiming it was caused by an electric vehicle catching fire. However, analysis using the InVid video verification tool reveals that the footage actually depicts a fire from December 2023 in Corno di Rosazzo, a municipality in Udine province, Italy, close to the Slovenian border.
Local media outlets Il Goriziano and Udine Today, as well as the Italian public broadcaster RAI, reported the fire last December. Valmore Venturini, commander of the Udine fire brigade, told Razkrinkavanje.si that the vehicle shown burning in the video was not electric but powered by an internal combustion engine. He also confirmed that the vehicle itself was not the cause of the fire.
The footage, initially circulated in Italy, has been verified by FACTA, a fact-checking portal based there. They determined the claims that the fire occurred in Gradisca d’Isonzo in Gorizia province are false.
Razkrinkavanje has shared these findings with the SDS’s local chapter in Cirkulane and we will publish their response upon receipt.
The post by the Cirkulane local chapter of the SDS has been debunked as fake.