How A Viral Lie in Japan Fed Male Hysteria About False Rape Charges

Why did a major media outlet in Japan echo a social media user’s lie about being charged with sexual assault for using an AED?

Some men oppose stricter enforcement of sexual assault laws on the grounds they will lead to more false accusations against them. A recent social media post in Japan shot heroin into the veins of this propaganda. What’s worse, the guy’s claims made the news before Internet sleuths shot them down. In this case, medical experts say the lie further disadvantages women who are already at higher risk of death than men when a medical incident occurs.

A fishy story

Social media influencer Takizawa Gareso (who broke the sushi terrorism story) summarized the basics last month. X user Hamagawa Masato (@masa0077) posted in response to another user that he had once used an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to save a woman who’d collapsed on the street.

“Since she was in cardiopulmonary arrest, I covered her up with a blanket and, naturally, did my best not to look while administering CPR. An ambulance took her away and she survived,” he says in part of the conversation preserved on the site posfie.