With Pokémon Go mania running wild, did you really think the worst that might happen was some would-be Ash Ketchum stumbling across a dead body?
If so, your concerns are mild compared to those of people in China. Although the game isn’t actually available there, rumors on Chinese social media claim that the game could be an attempt by Google and Nintendo to uncover details of secret military bases in the country.
“Don’t play Pokemon GO!!!” said one popular post on China’s Twitter-style social network Weibo. “It’s so the U.S. and Japan can explore China’s secret bases!”
The working theory is that rare Pokémon could be positioned in certain locations where, if no-one is able to capture them, it may be deduced that the location is a restricted-access military zone.
“Then, when war breaks out, Japan and the U.S. can easily target their guided missiles, and China will have been destroyed by the invasion of a Japanese-American game,” another post on Weibo read.
Such is the momentum the story has received that the Chinese government has even commented on it — although saying that it doesn’t have time to play and therefore investigate.
Niantic, the developers behind Pokémon Go, have said that a launch in China may be possible, but that there are many rules and restrictions that would need to be sidestepped or negotiated first.
Source: Reuters
