Photo/Illutration Police officers search for survivors trapped in a collapsed house on Jan. 4 in a quake-hit community in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture. This image is not associated with a false social media posting requesting assistance. (Takuya Tanabe)

KANAZAWA--A 25-year-old man was arrested on July 24 for obstructing rescue efforts by posting a false social media message requesting help following the New Year’s Day earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula.

The suspect, from Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, is accused of sharing a fake emergency post on X, formerly Twitter, at around 7 p.m. on Jan. 1, three hours after the magnitude-7.6 temblor struck the region.

Rescue crews arrived at the scene the following morning, only to find no collapsed building or trapped people as claimed in the message, according to Ishikawa prefectural police.

This wasted precious time and valuable resources during the critical hours immediately following the disaster.

The man admitted to the allegation, saying he was seeking attention online by taking advantage of the catastrophe.

False and misleading information posted on social media is a growing concern amid the rise of the attention economy.

In response to this and similar cases of disinformation online, the government is considering imposing stricter regulations on social media.

This would include requiring platforms to remove harmful posts and suspend accounts that repeatedly spread such fake content.

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