SEOUL: A photograph of the frontrunner bowing to a Mao Zedong statue? Information reviews claiming US President Donald Trump endorsed a long-shot candidate? Not true, simply examples of South Korea’s election misinformation issues.With the nation set to vote on Tuesday for a brand new chief to interchange ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached over a botched martial legislation declaration, there was an explosion of false claims on-line.What are the claims? Most of the claims give attention to overseas interference, tapping into native fears of meddling by China, or fabricating assist for the conservative camp from the USA.Probably the most outstanding falsehoods circulating on-line urged weaknesses within the abroad voter registration system, with Chinese language nationals exploiting the system to forged fraudulent ballots.“Even foreigners can vote so long as they’ve an e mail tackle!” learn one extensively shared submit, which AFP Truth Test debunked.Who will get focused? Opposition chief and election frontrunner Lee Jae-myung is a well-liked goal for disinformation. Many claims give attention to his purported allegiance to Beijing — feeding right into a long-running narrative amongst conservatives that casts progressive candidates as sympathetic to, and even managed by, China.For instance, pictures debunked by AFP journalists confirmed Lee kowtowing to a Mao statue, and sporting a face masks with the Chinese language flag on it.This pattern displays the truth that many citizens are much less swayed by claims politicians are pro-North Korea, mentioned Choi Jin-bong, a media communications professor at Sungkonghoe College in Seoul. “It is now the declare that progressives are subservient to China that resonates — particularly amid worsening US-China tensions,” he informed AFP. “Even when false, these narratives stay politically helpful to conservatives as a last-ditch effort to blunt what appears like an inevitable Lee victory.”What in regards to the conservative candidate? The disinformation involving South Korean conservatives tends to give attention to their ties to the USA. Doctored pictures have proven Trump supporting former prime minister Han Duck-soo’s presidential marketing campaign announcement.Han since dropped out of the race, after a failed bid to grow to be the conservative Folks Energy Get together (PPP) nominee.One other declare concerned a well-liked right-wing YouTuber falsely telling his 1.5 million subscribers that the Pentagon had endorsed PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo.US Forces Korea informed AFP it was “fully unfaithful”.However even when they’re patently false, the claims “stay persuasive as a result of they profit political actors”, Lee Jun-han, a politics professor at Incheon Nationwide College, informed AFP.“They faucet into Korea’s polarised panorama and its geopolitical anxieties, rallying all sides with narratives that play on worry, identification and out of doors affect.”What about AI?In April, a deepfake video surfaced displaying Lee supposedly ending a starvation strike — which he went on in 2023 to protest then-president Yoon’s insurance policies — and joking about consuming fried rooster.The video, which was shared extensively in South Korea’s right-wing on-line ecosystem, was generated utilizing an actual photograph of Lee in a hospital mattress.An AFP evaluation recognized quite a few indicators of AI manipulation — disappearing background parts, warped physique elements and inconsistent environment.The video was pretend, however it fed right into a pre-existing narrative that Lee’s protest was performative.“AI-driven misinformation poses a critical risk to democracy by obstructing voters’ entry to dependable info,” mentioned Track Kyeong-jae, a democracy and expertise knowledgeable at Sangji College. “When choices are made primarily based on manipulated content material, they’re irreversible — and the ensuing social and political penalties may be profound.” Fudged numbers Different claims have additionally sought to misrepresent pre-election polling, which has constantly proven Lee commanding a big lead over his conservative rivals.A viral graphic, shared days earlier than early voting started, falsely claimed PPP candidate Kim was main Lee in latest polls. In actuality, the numbers got here from January and February, and the unique supply clearly listed the survey dates.These have been intentionally cropped out to mislead viewers into pondering the outcomes have been present. Official Might polls confirmed Lee with a commanding lead of 5 factors or extra.
