Misleading or false information surrounding Monday's earthquake in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, has gone viral on social media. Some posts claim the quake was artificially generated.

Immediately after the quake, actual pictures of the damage and rescue requests, as well as erroneous and fake information were posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

An NHK analysis of online data concerning the Noto quake found that, as of 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, there were about 250,000 posts on the artificial earthquake hypothesis, including posts that rejected the idea. One such post had nearly 8.5 million views.

Misinformation completely unrelated to the earthquake was posted on X, including a video from a Japan Meteorological Agency news conference when North Korea carried out a nuclear test in the past. One such misleading post had been viewed more than one million times.

The Meteorological Agency believes Monday's quake occurred along a reverse fault after underground bedrock split and one side slid over the other.

The agency also believes that Monday's quake, which registered a magnitude of 7.6, was generated by a tremendous amount of energy that cannot be created artificially, even with a nuclear test.

False information on nuclear power plants and old videos related to evacuation shelters were also uploaded on X, with political assertions.

Experts say erroneous and fake information tends to gain traction during disasters when people feel anxious and are seeking updated news.

Information from the internet needs to be considered with caution, as such posts could affect rescue operations and lead to confusion in evacuations.

People should not hastily spread information or videos that get an emotional reaction, but should remain calm and check the sources, including government and media sites.

Kyoto University Professor Nishimura Takuya says it is inconceivable that the Ishikawa earthquake was man-made.

He says the seismic waves and movements of the Earth's crust from the quake have all the characteristics of an ordinary earthquake.

He says the quake occurred about 15 kilometers below ground, and it is impossible for humans to do something at that depth, and judging from its magnitude, the energy of the quake cannot be created by humans.
He says with absolute certainty that the quake was not generated artificially.

He also says because an earthquake occurs naturally and is difficult to predict, people should be prepared.