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Nankai Trough Earthquake Misinformation Spreads on Social Media; Japan Govt Asks Platforms to Take Action

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
A woman look at a smartphone in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, in June.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:01 JST, August 10, 2024

Misinformation and suspicious social media posts that stir fear are spreading after the Japan Meteorological Agency issued an advisory called a Megathrust Earthquake Attention. The Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry on Friday requested four social media platforms, including X, formerly known as Twitter, to take appropriate action against misinformation based on their terms of service.

Since Thursday, the groundless prediction that “A Nankai Trough earthquake will occur on Aug. 14, 2024” has been circulating on X. While an anonymous user made the post in 2018, it is believed that the post was spread following the issuance of the agency’s advisory.

The Yomiuri Shimbun used a social media analysis tool provided by Tokyo-based data analysis company User Local Inc. to search for posts on X containing the words “Aug. 14” and “Nankai Trough.” The results showed that while there were no such posts from Aug. 1 through Wednesday, there were approximately 70,000 on Thursday and Friday.

There also have been the circulation of false rumors claiming that Thursday’s earthquake was an “artificial earthquake” by the government with posts containing images of clouds that include the hashtag, “earthquake clouds.” In response to these posts, Kentaro Araki, a senior researcher at the agency’s Meteorological Research Institute, stated on X on Thursday: “Clouds cannot be a harbinger of earthquakes. It is impossible to predict earthquakes from the appearance of clouds.”

In addition, searching for “earthquake” or “Megathrust Earthquake Attention” on X generates many spam posts that redirect users to adult sites, making it difficult to find quake-related information.