"Kumamoto Earthquake Prediction Was Right" Rumors Spread Widely Along with Map Images

Immediately following a magnitude 7.1 strong earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, yesterday (July 28), unverified fake news and rumors have been rapidly spreading centered around social media (SNS).

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on July 29, conspiracy-theory-style posts claiming that "the earthquake was predicted in advance" or that "it was an artificially triggered earthquake" were posted one after another on major social media platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) right after the earthquake occurred.

In particular, a post from an account claiming, "We announced a prediction and got the location right," along with a map image, 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 manipulated images or videos featuring subjects such as the explosion of the large shopping mall AEON Mall or damage to Kumamoto Castle will be posted in the future."

He urged, "When encountering provocative information, please check the authenticity through announcements by public institutions or reports by media outlets, and do not spread unverified information."

In Japan, fake news has caused major social confusion during past major disasters as well.

At the time of the Kumamoto earthquake in April 2016, false information that "lions escaped from the zoo" was circulated, and during the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January 2024, false rescue requests were left by unauthorized use of actual addresses where there were no people to be rescued, causing confusion for authorities.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.