The hotel destroyed by the earthquake has existed for 20 years, not 3, as claimed

Several Albanian-language media outlets published an article yesterday and today (January 6-7) claiming that a building of "Trend Garden Residence", built 3 years ago in the Yeşilyurt neighborhood, in Malatya, Turkey, was destroyed by the recent earthquake.

In fact, the claim that this building was destroyed by the earthquake that affected some areas of southeastern Turkey and some parts of Syria is true. However, the other part of this claim that the destroyed building is new, built 3 years ago, turns out to be untrue.

This has been confirmed by several fact-checkers from Turkey who have verified that the building has existed for at least 20 years. (here, here)

Links to articles published in several Albanian-language media:

https://www.syri.net/amp/index.php?id=568533&fbclid=IwAR0DQEmDGmxxSa_Mkd37jzpNFFTgoINLi34Z45T-BxJVYsX2DtdQiPXyGXg

https://www.tetovasot.com/2023/02/ndertesa-e-ngritur-3-vite-me-pare-u-palos-si-letra-nga-termeti-apokaliptik-ne-turqi-video/?fbclid=IwAR0h_5CxiH1f41nxshE0zO2yC-v4bF5uaYA-2HSiVvuAWCv5TaWZhT72MDg

The claim that the "Trend Garden Residence" hotel destroyed by the earthquake was built three years ago is based on the fact that this facility has existed for at least 20 years.

In a post shared by a Twitter account on February 6, 2023, it was claimed that a house destroyed in Malatya as a result of the earthquake that occurred in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023 was three years old. (here)

Looking at Google Earth data of the coordinates where the residence is located, it is concluded that a building of the same type has been present at the location since 2001.

Photos 1, 2, 3

In addition, it is possible to access old images of the building when pharmacies under residence are searched for in search engines. When comparing the old images with the new images, it is seen that the building has not been demolished or rebuilt, but only the exterior has been renovated. (here, here)

Analyze:

Several Albanian-language media outlets have published an article claiming that a hotel built three years ago was destroyed by the earthquake.

Fact-checkers from Turkey report that the building in question was destroyed by the earthquake, but it is not true that it was built for three years, but has existed for at least 20 years.

Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info considers this claim to be "unverified content".

Rating:

The “Unverified” rating is given to those media reports that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which have not been able to confirm the same due to the lack or non-possession of reliable sources.