Misinformation and exploitation of events At that time, on social networks, there were a number of articles and content with the purpose of profiting from the incident. Specifically, a number of fanpages on the
Facebook platform used
artificial intelligence technology to create
images and
videos illustrative and staged
fictional stories. Most of those articles will be presented in an emotional way and have a loose ending with the words "Đọc tiếp dưới bình luận" (Read more in comments) to redirect users to websites containing many
advertisements to gain
profit. And although the words "fictional details" or "illustrative images" are inserted, the font size is too small, making it difficult for readers to distinguish between real and fake, causing some social network users to misunderstand and leave comments expressing condolences and mourning for unreal characters. The spread of the image with the
false information has made many of his relatives living in
Vietnam extremely confused and worried. He said that his family had to constantly reassure everyone after this false information appeared on social networking platforms. Faced with this situation, he expressed his hope that the authorities would soon intervene and strictly handle information pages that post false information, especially content that violates privacy and images of
children. However, many people have called on people to stop
blaming the victims, and many have shared images of clear weather at noon that day to show that the thunderstorm was sudden and unpredictable. In the face of public controversy, Dr. Nguyễn Ngọc Huy, a weather researcher and extreme disaster warning expert, posted an article titled "The victim is not at fault" on his personal page, answering common questions after the
accident. He said and affirmed that at 13:30, the weather report was updated and warned of the possibility of
tornadoes that day. At that time, the ship Wonder Sea had already left port, and other ships were then asked to stop operating. Regarding forecasting capabilities, he said that both the two strongest forecasting models today,
GFS and
ECMWF, did not warn of thunderstorms in the
Hạ Long Bay area from 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. on the day of the incident. In addition,
radar and
satellite images also detected a cluster of
thunderclouds storms when the weather phenomena had occurred. From his perspective, he believed that it was a "rare super thunderstorm cloud", which could have created a local
tornado, which is why even modern ships or experienced
captains would have difficulty handling if they encountered this situation. Immediately after that, some tourists
live broadcast on
social network and showed that
fireworks performance. After that, these two businesses received a wave of criticism and boycott. Public opinion said that organizing entertainment activities while rescue work was taking place urgently was inappropriate, especially in the context of more than a thousand people and hundreds of vehicles actively searching for victims in the bay. More specifically, there were people sharing and criticizing this offensive issue. It is known that each month, children under 18 years old and orphans will receive 6 million VND, orphans will receive 3 million VND, until they turn 18 years old. In case of teenagers from 18 to 22 years old, they will be supported with tuition fees and vocational training if needed. This support program has been proposed by the unit to
People's Committee Quảng Ninh and the Department of
Health to coordinate in providing information for implementation. Meanwhile, Sea Octopus confirmed that the fireworks display during the rescue operation was a serious and unacceptable mistake. The unit's representative said that the cause stemmed from a lack of information updating and situation assessment, which caused a part of the ship's operations to be not fully aware of the ongoing incident. The unit also pledged to tighten its emergency information and internal operations procedures, and expressed its desire to accompany and support the victims' families in the post-
accident period. Immediately afterwards, on July 24, at the regular press conference for the second quarter of 2025 of the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam, Deputy Director of the
Vietnam National Authority of Tourism – Phạm Văn Thủy criticized the act of selling fireworks as an insensitive act. ==References==