Fact Check

Did New Year's Fireworks 'Compete' with a Volcanic Eruption in Naples, Italy?

An animated image appears to show a volcano erupting during a New Year's firework celebration in Naples, Italy.

Published May 29, 2017

 (Flickr/felicito rustique, jr.)
Image Via Flickr/felicito rustique, jr.
Claim:
An animated image shows Mount Vesuvius erupting during a firework celebration in Naples, Italy.

An animated image purportedly showing people in Naples, Italy, attempting to "upstage" a volcanic eruption with a firework display reappeared on social media in May 2017:

This image, which is often shared under the title "The Last New Year's Eve in Naples," does not depict a real event. This image is actually a cinemagraph created by Reddit user quasimai in 2015. Although the fireworks shown in the composite are real, the volcanic eruption shown in the image was digitally added:

I was wondering if someone would actually believe this :)). I obviously faked the eruption. If Vesuvio had erupted the medias would have talked about it because it has been sleeping for 70 years and next eruption will be catastrophic. Otherwise the fireworks are real, and I can assure you that New year's eve in Naples is absolutely astonishing

Here's a video of the New Year's firework display in Naples (sans volcano):

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.