Get PolitiFact in your inbox.
Supposed video of a car trapped at Burning Man was shot before the festival even started
If Your Time is short
- Video of "someone who tried to escape Burning Man" amid heavy rainfall was first posted online before the festival started.
Thousands of Burning Man attendees were stranded in September after heavy rains caused flooding at the festival’s Nevada site.
But a recent video allegedly showing "someone who tried to escape Burning Man" predates this muddy mess.
The video shows a white Jeep apparently grounded by mud in a desertlike setting.
An Instagram post sharing this video was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Featured Fact-check
The video footage appeared online as early as Aug. 15, when someone posted it to Instagram. Someone who posted it on TikTok the same day wrote that it was shot near South Padre Island, Texas.
Heavy rainfall flooded roads and created ankle-deep mud that prompted Burning Man organizers to stop traffic in and out of Black Rock City, the temporary city created for the festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert. But the downpours didn’t start until Sept. 1 — two weeks after the social media posts.
The festival didn’t start until Aug. 27.
We rate claims this video shows someone trying to escape Burning Man False.
Our Sources
Instagram post, Sept. 3, 2023
PolitiFact, There were floods, there was mud, but Burning Man sparked no emergency declaration, Sept. 6, 2023
Burning Man Project, Black Rock City 2023, visited Sept. 7, 2023
TikTok post, Aug. 15, 2023
Instagram post, Aug. 15, 2023
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Ciara O'Rourke
Supposed video of a car trapped at Burning Man was shot before the festival even started
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.