MIYAGI, Nov 27 (News On Japan) - Onagawa in Miyagi Prefecture issued a warning on social media after receiving what was believed to be a photo of a bear spotted in town, but the image was later revealed to be a fake created with generative AI.
The photo showed a large bear walking along a road in the Ogawa district on November 25th, submitted to the town office by a resident who claimed to have taken it. The metal cover visible in the photo appeared bent, prompting concern, but when officials inspected the location they found the cover perfectly intact. Onagawa posted the image on its official SNS accounts to alert residents, only to be informed later by the same resident that the picture had been created using AI.
A nearby nursery school temporarily stopped allowing children to play outside, and the town broadcast warnings through its disaster-prevention loudspeaker system in response to the supposed sighting.
A resident living near the mountains said they had been genuinely alarmed, noting that “I really wondered what to do, and when I heard it was a fake created like this, I felt anger rising inside me.”
Onagawa stated it will strengthen its verification procedures, including checking the authenticity of submitted information, and will work to ensure accurate communication going forward.
Source: 日テレNEWS
