The put up racked up greater than 680 shares. Different Fb pages reminiscent of right here, right here and right here additionally shared the images with the identical caption.
The declare surfaced days after a 7.1-magnitude earthquake shook Japan on August 8, 2024, although no main harm was reported and solely comparatively minor tsunami waves lashed the coast (archived hyperlink).
Japan just lately lifted a warning {that a} “megaquake” probably inflicting colossal harm and lack of life may strike (archived hyperlink).Â
The nation sits on high of 4 main tectonic plates and experiences round 1,500 quakes yearly, most of them minor.
However the images shared on Fb predate the August 8 tremor.
January 2024 quake
The photograph on the high left of the collage exhibits a person in a camouflage uniform surrounded by particles fallen from broken buildings.
A mix of reverse picture and key phrase searches discovered it was printed by Komatsu Air Base of the Japanese air pressure on social media platform X (archived hyperlink).
The caption of the January 7, 2024 put up says the photographs had been shot because the pressure inspected earthquake harm in Wajima metropolis in Japan’s Noto Peninsula.
The photograph was additionally included in a catastrophe reduction dispatch report printed by Japan’s defence ministry the identical day (archived hyperlink).
Under is a screenshot comparability of the false put up (left) and the photograph printed by the Komatsu Air Base (proper):
The Noto Peninsula was hit by the 7.5-magnitude quake on January 1, with streets of mud, flattened homes and sunken boats in port communities such as Wajima and Suzu (archived hyperlink).
2022 Japan jolt
The photograph which exhibits a person taking a look at what seems to be rows of concrete slabs on a street was taken from a distinct earthquake in Japan greater than two years in the past.
A powerful offshore earthquake struck Oita and Miyazaki prefectures in southern Japan on January 22, 2022 however there was no main harm reported (archived hyperlink).
Based mostly on reverse picture searches, the picture was printed by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun on January 23, 2022 and was taken by to photographer Yoshiko Hasebe (archived hyperlink).
The caption mentioned it exhibits a wall of a home that collapsed in Oita because of the earthquake.
Under is a screenshot comparability of the false put up (left) and the photograph printed by Yomiuri Shimbun (proper):
The image on the backside left of the collage, which exhibits a collapsed gate with particles and rubble scattered on the road, was credited to Kyodo Information on January 22, 2022 (archived hyperlink). The caption says it was taken in Oita following the earthquake.
Under is a screenshot comparability of the false put up (left) and the Kyodo Information photograph (proper):
The photograph of the street with fissures was taken throughout the New Yr’s Day quake in 2024, whereas the image of the raging waves was shot within the aftermath of a tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, in keeping with earlier debunks right here and right here.Â
AFP has beforehand fact-checked misinformation on the current Japan earthquake right here and right here.
