"Fake News Circulating on SNS Saying 'War Will Break Out on April 23,' Can It Be Stopped?"

'War is Coming' Posts Circulate on Facebook
Some Alarm as Kim Jong-un's Health Rumors Spread
False Information Causes Severe Social Confusion
Global Efforts Intensify to Combat Fake News

Fake news / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] "The Second Korean War will break out in the early morning of April 23, 2020. I am sending this message because I want to save people no matter what."

On the 12th, an anonymous post appeared on the Facebook page 'National University Students Bamboo Forest' stating that "war will break out." The author claimed, "I may be labeled a liar in an instant, but if my words come true, this is a matter of survival for you," and warned, "Start packing now and leave the country at least until the 21st."

As of the 24th, the post was revealed to be 'fake news,' but the phrase 'April 23 war' still became a trending search term on portal sites. Moreover, about 2,000 questions titled "Will war break out on April 23?" were posted on portal site Q&A boards.

In particular, this post coincided with recent news about North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's rumored health issues, causing some netizens to express confusion. The false information caused social unrest.

Such false information or 'fake news' has been spreading more aggressively amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) recently pointed out that conspiracy theories, misinformation, and fake news are spreading alongside COVID-19.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "Fake news and misinformation can spread faster than the virus itself worldwide," adding, "We are not only fighting a pandemic but also an infodemic."

Infodemic is a newly coined term combining 'information' and 'epidemic,' referring to the rapid spread of false information or fake news through social networking services (SNS) and other channels.

Fake news is spreading even faster through various online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and KakaoTalk. In response, the government has urged active measures against this situation.

On February 2, 2018, then Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon chaired a Cabinet meeting at the Government Seoul Office and stated, "Those who maliciously create fake news or deliberately and systematically spread it should be dealt with according to the law," urging, "The prosecution and police should establish a joint response system with related agencies to swiftly investigate fake news and strictly punish illegal acts."

On March 16th, the White House tweeted that 'the entire U.S. will soon be locked down' is fake news / Photo by Twitter, screenshot of the post

Fake news continues to run rampant on SNS platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

In mid-March, millions of Americans saw a message on their smartphone screens saying, "Broadcast advisory: The Trump administration will soon impose a nationwide lockdown." The message, citing a source from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, stated, "The government will announce this lockdown order as soon as troops are deployed to stop looters and rioters," and "The source received this notification last night and was told to pack in preparation for deployment today." Various forms of this fake message spread rapidly, and the White House National Security Council (NSC) even announced on Twitter that the message was "fake."

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 22nd of last month (local time) that U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that China was behind this fake message.

According to the report, Chinese spies did not create the message themselves but created multiple fake SNS accounts, including on Facebook, to enable the rapid spread of this 'fake news.' The NYT noted, "Although similar to how Russia spreads fake news within the U.S., U.S. intelligence agencies were surprised that this fake message appeared on millions of Americans' smartphones in such a short time."

Amid the global chaos caused by 'fake news,' SNS platforms such as Facebook have announced active measures to combat the spread of fake news.

Facebook revealed that last year it hired thousands of new staff to review posts, photos, and videos that violate its policies, and Twitter also pledged to use artificial intelligence features to filter posts and prevent the spread of fake news.

YouTube stated that it uses algorithms prioritizing content from reliable sources. YouTube spokesperson Pashad Shadloo emphasized, "We are making significant investments in our platform to prevent the spread of misinformation."

Meanwhile, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) plans to respond to social unrest caused by false and manipulated information, including 'fake news.'

On March 11, the KCC held its 13th committee meeting at the Gwacheon office, where it received a report titled 'Recommendations for Solving the Problem of False and Manipulated Information' prepared by an expert panel and discussed related measures.

The report defined false and manipulated information as "all information knowingly produced and distributed to mislead information users into believing it is true for political, economic, or other benefits."

KCC Chairman Han Sang-hyuk emphasized, "Awareness of the harms of fake news has widely spread in our society, and active measures must be prepared across all sectors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.