PVMBG Asks People To Beware Of Hoaxes Of The Semeru Eruption

LUMAJANG - Center for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources appealed to the public not to believe untrue news or hoaxes related to the eruption of Mount Semeru.

"The public is advised to remain calm and not be provoked by untrue news regarding the eruption of Mount Semeru," said Head of PVMBG Andiani, quoted by Antara, Thursday, December 9.

Andiani conveyed that information related to the activities of Mount Semeru can be viewed through the official website or application of Magma Indonesia and through PVMBG social media.

He said he had obtained several hoax videos circulating through Facebook and several other social media, so that the public was asked to clarify the truth of the videos to PVMBG.

Andiani asked the public not to haphazardly disseminate information if there was no official statement from PVMBG that the video was indeed from Mount Semeru.

Based on Antara's search results, there are videos and photos that have been widely circulated on social media which are claimed to show hot lava flows from Mount Semeru, East Java.

First, digital content that is also spread via WhatsApp displays bursts of red liquid flowing from mountain rocks, and emitting smoke with the narrative 'Air monitoring 5 December 2021 lava of Mount Semeru'.

Second, screenshots of photos uploaded to Facebook and narrated as the eruption of Mount Semeru with the caption 'Semeru Exclaims'.

The information uploaded on social media is not related to the eruption of Mount Semeru.

The 19-second video with the claim of Mount Semeru's lava is an image snippet from content on YouTube entitled "MOTHER NATURE'S FIERY TOUCH: USGS video of the current lava flow from Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano".

The video, which was published since February 2, 2017, shows the lava flow from Mount Kilauea in Hawaii that has reached the Pacific Ocean.

While the photo which is claimed to be the eruption of Mount Semeru, the original shows the eruption of the Sakurajima Stratovolcano volcano in Japan, as published on the unofficialnetworks.com website.

"We ask that the public are asking for things related to hoax news to come back to us, because we are very open to information or questions from the public. We don't want the atmosphere to become more chaotic," Andiani said.