Astrology Goes Wrong: TikTok Prophet Arrested for Earthquake Prediction

In a dramatic tale that converges social media and public safety, a TikTok astrologer has been arrested in Myanmar after foreseeing a catastrophic earthquake, leading to widespread panic among citizens.

Myanmar's authorities have taken action against John Moe The, an astrologer whose viral TikTok prediction sparked chaos and unrest following a recent disaster. Just two weeks after a devastating magnitude 7.7 earthquake resulted in the deaths of 3,500 people and severe destruction of historical sites, Moe The proclaimed in a video posted on April 9 that a new earthquake would hit "every city in Myanmar" on April 21. This alarming forecasting, which amassed over three million views, prompted the authorities to detain him for allegedly making "false statements with the intention of causing public panic."

According to Myanmar's information ministry, the astrologer's warnings led many residents to evacuate their homes and camp outdoors, anxious about the predicted upheaval. "People should not stay in tall buildings during the day," was the unsettling advice given in the caption of his post. Addressing the fears in Yangon, a local expressed that several neighbors had believed his forecast and acted on it, indicating the profound influence of such predictions among the community.

With more than 300,000 followers, John Moe The's TikTok account, which provided forecasts rooted in astrology and palmistry, has since been deactivated. His arrest occurred during a police operation in Sagaing, an area that experienced severe impacts from the earlier earthquake on March 28, which was notable enough to invoke a request for international aid from the Myanmar junta.

Experts emphasize that predicting earthquakes is a complex matter, asserting the inherent unpredictability of geological phenomena and their repercussions, especially in regions prone to such disasters.