In 2024, an earthquake occurred in Iran, after which very dubious information began to spread on social networks. Some argued that underground rushes are not at all natural origin, but are the result of testing the secret nuclear weapon of Iran, writes Gizmodo.
More recently, a team of researchers under the auspices of the University of Jones Hopkins published a work that refutes the theory of a conspiracy about a nuclear explosion. The study confirmed that the earthquake was an ordinary seismic event, and also emphasized the risk of using scientific disinformation for military purposes during the geopolitical tension.
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" This shows how geophysical data played an important role in the geopolitical crisis, ”says Johns Hopkins, head of the study by Benjamin Fernando.
Less than a year after the Hamas attack on Israel, an earthquake of magnitude 4.5 took place about 50 km southwest of the Iranian city of Semanan. It is located 216 km east of the capital of Tehran.
Scientists analyzed this incident using the publicly available data of seismic monitoring stations.
" Nuclear tests would have completely different signatures that are more suitable for the explosion, ”the authors of the study explain.
Organization of the Agreement on a comprehensive prohibition of nuclear tests, which is tracked by nuclear tests around the world, also confirmed that the earthquake in Iran was simply an earthquake. It is noted that underground shocks were very similar to those that were recorded in 2015 and 2018.
Iran is a seismically active region, as it is at the junction of the Arabian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
But the rumors that the earthquake was not natural spread in social networks with lightning speed.
Studies showed that the first post with misinformation appeared in X less than 20 minutes after the earthquake.
After this publication around the world, this news was picked up, including the media in the USA, France, Great Britain, Israel, India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.
Recall, scientists told how many nuclear bombs were blown up for almost 80 years. The first test of the nuclear bomb, conducted in 1945, laid the foundation for the international arms race, which included nuclear tests.