Few western media is picking this story up, but there has been a case when millions of people in Shanxi, China let their anti-government cynicism get the better of them.
At 3 am last Sunday, people were woken up by warnings that an earthquake was about to occur. This went viral and millions of people in cities, towns, and villages came out waiting for the quake. By 6 am, the government issued a statement denying the rumour. But the people stood outside, refusing to go home until the earthquake passed. The "warning" originated on an online forum by a troll who posted the rumour and created multiple accounts to "reply" in the thread.
Turns out that last month, another rumour spread of an imminent earthquake, which the government quickly denied. On the 24th, a 4.9 struck the area, which apparently shattered confidence in the government.
Here are a few pictures of the incident:
http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_63cc7eef0100h33r.html?tj=1
