Flag of Japan. Photo by Kulbir on Pexels.com
False claims circulating online alleged that a recent strong earthquake in northeastern Japan was artificially generated, despite no scientific basis for the assertion.
The misinformation spread after a magnitude 7.7 quake struck off the Sanriku coast on Monday, which reached upper 5 on Japan’s seismic intensity scale in parts of Aomori Prefecture.
Social media users on X, formerly Twitter, linked the tremor to the Chikyu deep-sea drilling vessel operated by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).
Some posts claimed the research ship, which was conducting work off southern Hokkaido, triggered the quake, even though the epicenter was located off Sanriku.
One widely shared post drew tens of thousands of views, but none of the claims included scientific evidence to support the allegation.
Experts and officials rejected the theory, saying seismic activity of that scale cannot be caused by human drilling operations.
A JAMSTEC representative said research vessel operations do not influence large-scale movements of the Earth’s crust.
Authorities have repeatedly warned against the spread of unverified information following major natural disasters.