In the wake of the earthquake on 19 September 2017, Dithurbide became caught up in a story that turned out to be fake at one of the epicenters of the story. At the collapsed Colegio Rébsamen elementary school, she reported that a child, , was still alive in the rubble. Coverage centered for hours on the supposedly trapped child; Dithurbide reported that rescuers were "in contact" with her, giving her something to drink. It was later learned that there was nobody alive in the collapsed school; Dithurbide blamed an inaccurate report from Mexican Navy officials assisting in the rescue effort. As the story had gone viral on social media, Dithurbide came under heavy criticism for the false report.