Ignore fearmongering online videos claiming to show an earthquake in Eldoret, Kenya
IN SHORT: Viral videos claiming to show an earthquake in Eldoret, Kenya don't show a real event. The clips use visual effects and dramatic audio to simulate seismic activity.
Several social media posts circulating since early May 2026 claim to show an earthquake in Eldoret, Kenya.
They include videos appearing to show the ground moving in waves, while panicked voices and rumbling sounds are heard in the background.
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One TikTok clip is captioned: "Earthquake. Residents of Eldoret have reported experiencing a sudden earth tremor just moments ago, causing brief panic in parts of the town."
The posts have attracted more than a million views.
Recent earthquake activity in Kenya
Kenya has in the past recorded some earthquake activity, especially in the East African Rift System. The most recent tremors were reported in parts of Kenya on 7 May 2025. Major destructive quakes are, however, rare.
This wider context may make dramatic earthquake-related videos appear believable online. But is the circulating clip genuine? We checked.
Video uses fake visual effects
The claim is false. The clips do not show a real earthquake in Eldoret or elsewhere in Kenya.
A closer look shows the videos use digital distortion effects to create "waves" or the illusion of moving ground. In particular, the clips use TikTok's "hectic dream" visual effect, a filter that warps and bends the image to create a shaky, dream-like appearance. Most of the videos are simply normal recordings of roads or open ground with this effect added afterwards.
The filter, along with the same panicked voice background audio, has been used in similar misleading clips in the past to make viewers believe an earthquake took place.
The more realistic-looking video is also fake, but it appears more like the camera being shaken aggressively, accompanied by realistic sounds of rumbling and falling debris. However, the audio does not match what is seen, as there is no falling debris in the video. This suggests a manual shake or a hidden filter has been applied, along with unrelated sounds.
Another sign that none of the footage is real is that the buildings do not shake naturally. The visuals also do not match how earthquakes appear. They do not create smooth rolling waves across the ground like water. Instead, they cause shaking, vibrations, rattling, falling objects and sometimes visible structural damage.
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There have also been no credible reports of a recent earthquake in Eldoret or elsewhere in Kenya. Public earthquake monitoring records do not show any significant seismic event in Eldoret in early May 2026.
