Immediately following yesterday's magnitude 7.1 strong earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, unverified fake news and rumors have been rapidly spreading across social media platforms.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on July 29, numerous conspiracy-themed posts emerged on major social networking sites like X (formerly Twitter) right after the quake, claiming that "the earthquake was predicted in advance" or that it was "artificially triggered."
In particular, a post from an account featuring a map image and claiming, "An prediction was announced, and the location was correct," surpassed 3.4 million views.
Regarding this, Furuta Daisuke, editor-in-chief of the Japan Fact Check Center, pointed out, "There is a high possibility that fabricated images or videos using subjects such as explosions at the large shopping mall AEON Mall or damage to Kumamoto Castle will be posted in the future."
He urged, "When encountering sensational information, please verify its authenticity through announcements from public institutions or reports from news media outlets, and do not share uncertain information."
In Japan, fake news has previously caused significant social confusion during past major disasters.
At the time of the Kumamoto earthquake in April 2016, false information was circulated claiming that "a lion escaped from the zoo," and during the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January 2024, unauthorized use of real addresses where no rescue targets existed led to fake rescue requests, causing confusion for authorities.
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