False information that the temple Jisso-in in Sakyo Ward, Kyoto City, was for sale was spread on social media, leading to a series of inquiries about the temple.
The temple is warning people to be careful, saying that ``the damage caused by rumors is severe.''
Jisso-in is an ancient temple that is said to have been founded in the Kamakura period, and is also a well-known tourist attraction.
According to the temple, on the night of the 5th, there was a post on the old Twitter account X that said, ``Jitsouin is being sold on Chinese SNS.I heard that they are looking for a buyer.Is that true?''
The image that was posted together is said to be from a Chinese app, and it says things like ``Kyoto, temple, 10,000 square meters of land,'' and uses a photo of the gate of Jisso-in Temple.
The post went viral, and the temple received a series of inquiries.
On the 6th, the temple issued a message on its social media and homepage saying, ``Posts saying that the item is for sale are being spread on Chinese social media, but there is no such fact at all,'' calling for caution.
The poster of X later apologized for carelessly spreading false information, and the post was deleted.
The temple was raising money through crowdfunding and other means to repair the building, and said, ``As we continued our fundraising efforts, we saw information spread like this, which made me realize how scary social media can be.The damage caused by rumors is also severe. It is,” he commented.