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The Dark Side of Disaster: Japan Battles Surge in Fake News During Crises
In the critical hours following Japan’s New Year’s Day earthquake on the Noto Peninsula in 2024, as rescue crews rushed to aid victims, a disturbing social media post appeared. “My family is trapped under a collapsed building and desperately needs help,” it claimed. Ishikawa prefectural police immediately dispatched rescue workers to the location, only to discover they had been sent on a dangerous wild goose chase.
The man responsible, a company employee from Saitama Prefecture, was later arrested for obstructing rescue efforts. His motive? He simply “hoped it would get a big reaction online.”
This incident exemplifies a growing crisis that former NHK announcer Hori Jun examines in his new book “Saigai to dema” (Disaster and Disinformation). The work highlights how disasters in Japan increasingly trigger waves of misinformation that hamper rescue operations and amplify public anxiety.
“It takes a few million views for a poster to earn a meager reward of ¥10,000,” Hori notes, referring to so-called “impression zombies” who post sensational misinformation to generate advertising revenue. “Putting others’ lives at risk like that is more than reprehensible.”
The rapid spread of false information during disasters has become alarmingly commonplace in Japan. During the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, panic erupted when a photo of a lion supposedly escaped from the local zoo circulated on Twitter. Within an hour, the post had been shared over 20,000 times, causing widespread fear that prevented some residents from evacuating to safety.
The zoo’s website had been knocked offline by the earthquake, hampering officials’ ability to refute the claim. It took two days and a newspaper article to finally debunk the hoax. Three months later, a 20-year-old man from Kanagawa was arrested for posting the false tweet—marking the first such arrest in Japan for spreading fake information on social media.
The democratization of advanced technology has only worsened the problem. In another case Hori investigated, a man with no specialized knowledge of flooding created and posted a convincing AI-generated image of homes supposedly inundated by a typhoon in Shizuoka in 2022. The entire process took just one minute.
To combat the problem, organizations like the Japan Fact-Check Center have developed frameworks to help identify misinformation. After the Noto earthquake, they established five categories of fake disaster news: posts using footage from previous disasters, false calls for help, fake donation drives, unsubstantiated crime reports, and conspiracy theories such as claims about manmade earthquakes.
Hori emphasizes that the psychological vulnerability of people during disasters makes them particularly susceptible to misinformation. “The terrifying power of misinformation is its ability to sow suspicion and distrust by warping the truth,” he writes.
This phenomenon isn’t merely a modern inconvenience. Hori draws parallels to one of Japan’s darkest historical moments—the massacre of Koreans following the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake, when panic and rumors fueled violence against innocent individuals.
The impact of disaster misinformation extends beyond borders. Recently, unfounded rumors of an imminent megaquake in Japan, based on a 1999 manga prediction, spread so widely on social media that they deterred tourists from Hong Kong from visiting Japan, despite official assurances from Japanese authorities that there was no scientific basis for such predictions.
“We as individuals need to be acutely aware that we aren’t just consumers of information but are the ones spreading it,” Hori warns. In his view, the propagation of misinformation constitutes a “secondary disaster” that amplifies the effects of the original catastrophe.
As Japan continues to grapple with natural disasters and an increasingly complex information landscape, Hori’s work serves as a critical reminder: in times of crisis, the responsibility for preventing the spread of rumors and fake news falls not just on authorities and platforms, but on every individual who shares information.
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14 Comments
This is a complex issue with no easy solutions. While technology has enabled the rapid spread of misinformation, we must also address the underlying social and psychological factors that make people vulnerable to believing and sharing false claims.
Agreed. Improving critical thinking skills, media literacy, and community resilience will all be important in the fight against disinformation, especially in crisis situations.
The article raises an important issue about the dark side of social media and the ability for bad actors to exploit it. We need better education and tools to combat the spread of misinformation, especially in high-stakes situations.
Agreed. Improving digital literacy and strengthening media verification practices should be a priority, so the public is better equipped to identify and resist false information during crises.
Profiting from fake news during disasters is a particularly despicable act. I hope stricter regulations and enforcement can help curb this harmful behavior and protect vulnerable communities.
Absolutely. Exploiting people’s fear and suffering for financial gain is completely unacceptable. Stronger penalties and accountability measures are needed to deter these kinds of actions.
The article highlights an important challenge that many countries face. I wonder what best practices or lessons can be learned from Japan’s experience in combating this problem. Sharing knowledge internationally could help develop more effective strategies.
That’s a great point. Collaborative efforts between governments, tech companies, and civil society groups could lead to more comprehensive and coordinated solutions to address the global issue of disinformation.
This is a concerning trend, as the spread of misinformation during crisis situations can have dire consequences. It’s important that people remain vigilant and verify information before sharing or acting on it.
Absolutely. Fact-checking and relying on trusted, official sources is crucial during emergencies. Spreading unverified claims can interfere with rescue efforts and put lives at risk.
This is a sobering reminder of how misinformation can have real-world consequences, even in life-or-death scenarios. I hope this case study prompts deeper reflection on the ethics of social media and how to build a more trustworthy information ecosystem.
Absolutely. Rebuilding public trust in media and institutions will be crucial, along with empowering citizens to think critically about the information they encounter online.
The article raises valid concerns about the dangerous intersection of disasters, social media, and financial incentives. Addressing this challenge will require a multi-pronged approach involving policy, technology, and public education.
Well said. Combating misinformation during crises is a complex issue, but one that must be tackled head-on to protect vulnerable communities and ensure effective emergency response.