False claims alleging theft by foreigners in Japan spread on social media

TOKYO - Videos falsely portraying foreigners as stealing metal from railway tracks in Japan have spread widely on the country's social media, apparently to suggest foreigners are a threat to public safety, an investigation by a Tokyo-based cybersecurity company showed Saturday.

According to Constella Security Japan Inc., social media posts with descriptions such as "metal theft" with attached footage from old videos apparently filmed overseas had received roughly 4.3 million views on X, YouTube and other platforms by Sept. 15.