A viral tweet claiming to show “video shot automatically” of the fatal volcanic eruption on New Zealand’s White Island has drawn over 100,000 views in one day of being posted, but is actually far from being the real deal.

The incredibly dramatic clip opens with a viewpoint apparently from a shoreline overlooking an ocean panorama when a distant rumbling signals an enormous eruption conveniently dead-center of the perfectly-positioned lens. The ‘eruption’ is so huge it sends a wave of intensely-hot smoke billowing toward the shore, devastating vehicles and houses in its wake.

As some Twitter users pointed out, the fact that the camera is apparently unharmed by the surrounding devastation and keeps recording as cars melt nearby is enough to highlight that the whole video is a mere simulation. Apart from that glaring fact, the scene and surroundings clearly don’t match that of White Island.

This video shot automatically from home installed camera shows New Zealand's White Island volcano eruption on 9 Dec 2019.Please wait for 24 seconds when nature's roar begins and most importantly......another 24 seconds after the blackout - completely lifeless.Wrath of #nature! pic.twitter.com/mcfr2GGriy — 💕💃Diwani Babli💃💕1.7K (@LaadliBabli) December 29, 2019

Cars melted! But the self-cleaning lens that sales guy told you about really came through, hey. — Nick McGivney (@nmcgivney) December 30, 2019

The video was posted by an account with the name ‘Diwani Babli’ which has less than 2,000 followers, yet the viewing figures for the CGI footage in the tweet have rocketed.

The real eruption on White Island (or Whakaari) on December 9 killed 19 people and injured dozens of others, some critically. Forty-seven tourists and guides were visiting the island at the time of the sudden volcanic blast, and many of the injured were rescued by passing boats.

Some of the commenters replying to the tweet video have urged the poster to delete it. “Such bad taste to post this claiming that’s it’s real footage,” one user wrote, while another said: “I would take the claim that it's footage of 9th Dec down, it's in poor taste. And completely incorrect.”

Fake + irresponsible — Arabella D (@AraDoug) December 30, 2019

You know people died here very recently and you use the event to post a lie!? ... the very worst of Twitter people — Nick (@TightToffee) December 30, 2019

Others helpfully pointed out that the simulation has actually been shown in a New Zealand museum as a CGI-depiction of an eruption off the coast near Auckland. The footage depicts an underwater eruption and was created two years ago as part of research by Professor Colin Wilson of Victoria University into the risk of explosive volcanoes in New Zealand.

However, other users were clearly completely drawn in by the computer simulation, commenting “that is staggeringly scary” and “incredible and awesome.”

The power of nature beautiful but so very deadly 🙄 — Happy😊 (@1sthappysodme) December 30, 2019

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