Dutch scientist, Frank Hoogerbeets, was the talk of the town when he once again predicted a strong earthquake in Pakistan in 48 hours.
The researcher at the Solar System Geometry Survey (SSGEOS) had said that they have recorded “atmospheric fluctuations that included parts of and near Pakistan.” He added that it could be an indicator of an upcoming stronger tremor.
His tweet quickly spread across the internet, causing major concerns among citizens. Fortunately, Pakistan didn’t experience even a slight tremor, let alone a strong one as he predicted.
Later, in another tweet, Hoogerbeets contradicted his own statement. He wrote that when the possibility of an earthquake is mentioned, rumors emerge suggesting that a “big earthquake” is imminent.
The Dutchman added that such rumors are false because there can be indicators but no certainty that it will happen.
Now, the question is, if no one can be absolutely certain about an earthquake, why would anyone make such a bold prediction? Perhaps, the answer to this question is ‘media attention.’
Hoogerbeets went viral for his “accurate” prediction of the earthquake in Turkey. And now, he seems to be enjoying the media spotlight and has taken up the habit of making predictions about strong earthquakes around the world.
It is extremely irresponsible on Hoogerbeets’ part, who calls himself a scientist, to make predictions about earthquakes. It has been clarified numerous times by world-renowned scientists that it is impossible to accurately predict earthquakes.
Despite being proved wrong several times, he continues to spread fear among the people. Similarly, local media has been as irresponsible as the Dutch researcher.
Soon after his so-called prediction, local media outlets such as Geo, ARY, and Aaj News and unreliable Facebook pages such as Startup Pakistan and others covered it as major news.
In a country like Pakistan, where people believe everything they read and watch on social media, big media houses have a major responsibility to fact-check before reporting everything as breaking news.
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