The put up racked up greater than 680 shares. Different Fb pages resembling 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 not too long ago lifted a warning {that a} “megaquake” probably inflicting colossal harm and lack of life might strike (archived hyperlink).
The nation sits on prime 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 prime left of the collage reveals 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 revealed by Komatsu Air Base of the Japanese air power on social media platform X (archived hyperlink).
The caption of the January 7, 2024 put up says the pictures had been shot because the power inspected earthquake harm in Wajima metropolis in Japan’s Noto Peninsula.
The photograph was additionally included in a catastrophe aid dispatch report revealed by Japan’s defence ministry the identical day (archived hyperlink).
Under is a screenshot comparability of the false put up (left) and the photograph revealed 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 reveals a person 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 revealed by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun on January 23, 2022 and was taken by to photographer Yoshiko Hasebe (archived hyperlink).
The caption stated it reveals a wall of a home that collapsed in Oita on account of the earthquake.
Under is a screenshot comparability of the false put up (left) and the photograph revealed by Yomiuri Shimbun (proper):
The image on the backside left of the collage, which reveals 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 12 months’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 response to earlier debunks right here and right here.
AFP has beforehand fact-checked misinformation on the latest Japan earthquake right here and right here.
