From “End Times” To “Tectonic Weapons”: Unpacking Narratives Around The Earthquake That Rocked New York

On April 5, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported that a 4.8 magnitude earthquake struck the northeast coast just after 10:20 AM Eastern time, shaking buildings in the tri-state area – a region rarely experiencing notable seismic activity. The earthquake, one of the largest to hit the East Coast in the last century, triggered a wave of panic and conspiracy theories online. Although no major damage was identified, claims quickly spread across social media that the earthquake was a harbinger of impending global catastrophe or linked the event to the current (geo)political climate.

Blackbird.AI’s RAV3N Narrative Intelligence and Research Team used our Constellation Narrative Intelligence Platform to identify and analyze five key narratives surrounding the earthquake.

NARRATIVE #1 – EARTHQUAKE AND UPCOMING SOLAR ECLIPSE INDICATE THE WORLD IS COMING TO AN END

This narrative was the largest in post volume, as narratives interpreted the earthquake as the ultimate sign that the world was ending. To bolster this argument, a widespread narrative mentioned the quake with Monday’s total solar eclipse in North America, expressing suspicion and fear while separating these two rare natural events. Similar narratives referenced local news outlets’ reports that a rare comet – known as the “Devil Comet” – might appear during the eclipse. These accounts perceived this news as yet another sign that the world is on the brink of a “biblical end-time,” predicting that it would likely happen today.

‍NARRATIVE #2 – TAIWAN AND NEW YORK EARTHQUAKES ARE LINKED

Narratives also frequently referenced the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck Taiwan on April 2. While the highest engagement post praised the speed of Taiwan’s emergency alert protocol compared to New York’s – pointing out that New Yorkers did not receive an alert until after the earthquake — other narratives spread conspiracy theories linking the two events. Some narratives interpreted the tight timeframe between the Taiwan and New York earthquakes as evidence that the world is about to collapse. Some accounts also linked the events to current geopolitical tensions, asserting that both earthquakes resulted from Russian research into tectonic weapons or China’s “earthquake machine” targeting strategic areas. Bot-like activity was detected at 24.7%, indicating an attempt to amplify this narrative inorganically.

NARRATIVE #3 – NEW YORK CITY LACKS EARTHQUAKE-RESISTANT INFRASTRUCTURE

Although this narrative had a smaller post volume, it indicated distrust and concern about New York City’s preparedness to deal with a major earthquake. Many perceived Friday’s earthquake as a wake-up call to alert on the alleged lack of solid and new infrastructures, citing that the city is built on “repurposed barges and wetland,” indicating that buildings would be unable to withstand earthquakes and eventually fall or sink. In the same vein, some narratives expressed the need to be better informed about the protocol to follow in an earthquake, pointing out that they did not know what to do when buildings started to shake.

‍NARRATIVE #4 – THE EARTHQUAKE IS LINKED TO THE UPCOMING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND FORMER PRESIDENT TRUMP’S CANDIDACY

While some narratives ironically associated the earthquake with a maneuver by former President Trump to delay his hush-money criminal trial due to begin April 15 in New York, a few also circulated conspiracy theories seeking to portray the earthquake as deliberately disrupting the upcoming presidential elections and Trump’s candidacy. For instance, hyper-agenda-driven narratives predicted that “they” – implying the government and mainstream media – would soon blame the earthquake on Trump to taint public perception of him ahead of the election. Similar accounts interpreted the event as a “warning” to end what they perceived as political persecution against him or as an attempt to interfere in the election.

NARRATIVE #5 – THE EARTHQUAKE WAS A MOSSAD OR HEZBOLLAH ATTACK

A smaller number of narratives also dismissed Friday’s event as a natural occurrence and instead portrayed it as a result of a foreign attack on the US that would trigger a third world war. These narratives drew links between the epicenter of the earthquake located near Lebanon, New Jersey, and a speech by the Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group Hezbollah that was allegedly delivered at the same time – claiming it was no coincidence. Other narratives accused Israel’s national intelligence agency Mossad of “creating” the earthquake in an attempt to divert attention from the death of aid workers in an Israeli military strike in Gaza on April 1. 

ECLIPSE NARRATIVE – THE SOLAR ECLIPSE IS A “PSYOP”

Earthquake conspiracies are just one part of a larger trend of inauthentic narratives that swirl around almost every major news event. Monday’s total solar eclipse is another example. In the days before the eclipse, we found indications of emerging narratives playing off the fear of a catastrophic event happening simultaneously and resulting from a lack of trust in the institutions issuing guidance on how to view the eclipse safely.

Social media narratives expressed concerns about an increased threat of terror attacks or other acts of violence during the eclipse since “crowds” of people would be gathering to view it. Some narratives asserted that the eclipse was a “psyop” to distract from a possible attack on the US by Iran. In another narrative, many raised concerns that guidance against looking up at the sun was issued by the Biden administration to instead allegedly conceal the passing of a Chinese surveillance balloon from the public. Others suggested a connection between the August 2017 solar eclipse across North America and the Chinese surveillance balloon spotted over the US in January 2023, sharing images of the paths to allegedly support their claims. Sifting through disinformation that feeds off of public distrust and the unknown necessitates an awareness of the anatomy of a conspiratorial narrative.  

Finally, in the week before Monday’s eclipse, the sun shone brightly on the song Total Eclipse of the Heart. Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 classic saw a nearly 50% spike in music streaming searches in the US, with the song becoming the most popular addition to user-generated “Eclipse” playlists. Blackbird.AI’s RAV3N team observed narratives about the song orbit social media moments before and after the moon’s path of totality. 

‍THE WAY FORWARD

The earthquake rattling the tri-state area on April 5 caused very little – if any – disruption to daily life, but the conspiratorial narratives that emerged immediately and circulated for days afterward could cause real harm. In a more impactful disaster – natural or otherwise – where information is limited, and chaos follows, disinformation will hinder situational awareness. Narrative attacks and disinformation during disasters pose serious risks to public safety. Blackbird.AI’s Constellation Narrative Intelligence Platform protects organizations from these types of narrative threats by identifying and analyzing the narratives as they transpire.

‍To learn more about how Blackbird.AI can help you in these situations, contact us here.