"I Want to Insult Celebrities lol" Turning to Instagram and YouTube After Blocking Malicious Comments

Naver Abolished Related Searches and Entertainment Comments in March
Comment Ban Balloon Effect...Haters Move to Other Platforms
Expert: "Closing Comments Is Not a Solution...Continuous Discussion Needed to Solve the Problem"

Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] As malicious comments (malicious posts) have become a social issue, portal sites have blocked the ability to write comments on entertainment articles to prevent this. As a result, malicious commenters who can no longer leave comments are flocking to broadcasting station bulletin boards or YouTube. In these spaces, they continue to use abusive language and baseless slander against specific celebrities.

Consequently, voices calling for urgent countermeasures are growing louder. Experts suggest that simply closing comments is not the solution and that continuous discussions are necessary to resolve the problem.

Previously, portal sites such as Naver and Kakao announced that they abolished news comments because malicious comments caused significant social problems.

Naver explained the reason for discontinuing entertainment news comments by stating, "We have tried to maintain a comment space where the two values of freedom of expression and protection of personal rights conflict," but "we could not ignore the special nature of celebrities who receive intense attention, and we empathized with the responsibility for issues of personal rights infringement in providing a comment space that even covers celebrities' private lives."

They added, "We acknowledge that current technical efforts alone are insufficient to alleviate the suffering of celebrities, so we decided to close entertainment news comments until the structural reorganization of entertainment information services is completed."

Earlier, Daum, considered one of the two major domestic portal sites along with Naver, had already abolished entertainment comment sections in October last year.

Photo by Yonhap News

The efforts of the two major portals have proven effective in reducing malicious comments. In fact, Kakao announced on the 18th that after revamping the news comment systems on KakaoTalk and Daum at the end of February, malicious comments such as abusive language and hate speech decreased by more than 20%.

Moreover, according to a report released last month by the Korea Press Foundation, Naver comments decreased by approximately 41% after the revamp.

However, as comments on these portals have been blocked, malicious commenters are flocking to online communities, viewer bulletin boards of broadcast programs, YouTube, and other platforms.

On an entertainment article on a portal site, comments containing unmentionable profanity such as "I don't know why this kind of person keeps appearing," "This XXX ruined my morning" can be easily found, along with sexually harassing remarks. Although there is a comment reporting function, it seems unable to stop the flood of malicious comments.

Kim Min-seo, who became a hot topic as the "look-alike of Park Bo-gum," announced on the 16th through his Instagram that he has filed a lawsuit against netizens who left malicious comments on him.
/Photo by Kim Min-seo on Instagram capture

Controversies over defamation and invasion of privacy of celebrities, influencers, and other public figures due to malicious comments have continued. Recently, malicious comments targeting non-celebrities have also been frequently observed.

Kim Minseo, a high school student who appeared as a "Park Bogum look-alike" on the KBS Joy variety show 'Ask Anything,' suffered from personal attack malicious comments after the broadcast aired.

On the 14th, Kim Minseo shared some of the direct messages (DMs) sent by malicious commenters on his Instagram. The revealed messages included content such as "I really hate that rice burger guy or whatever" and "What do you look like?" Eventually, Kim filed a police complaint against these malicious commenters.

Given the situation, netizens have criticized, saying things like "Other sites should also remove comment sections," "The level of comments on entertainment articles is pathetic," and "Now malicious comments are being directed at ordinary people too."

On the Blue House (Cheong Wa Dae) public petition board, petitions titled "Please block comments on all articles on portal sites," "Please strengthen legal penalties on the internet," and "We urge strong legal reforms against malicious commenters" have been posted.

One petitioner pointed out, "(Malicious commenters) post celebrity rumors on cafes, Twitter, etc., capture the reactions, and post them on popular communities. Then comments continue to be added, and malicious comments persist."

Another petitioner said, "Because their identity is not exposed and they do not face the other party directly, malicious commenters insult others. Not only celebrities but many people suffer from malicious comments," urging, "I hope punishments are strengthened to eradicate malicious commenters."

Some argue that the public forum for exchanging opinions with others has disappeared. They claim that their freedom of expression has been infringed.

Experts point out that various measures should be considered besides completely removing comment sections. In the report 'Changes in User Behavior After Naver Comment Revamp and Future Comment Policy Suggestions' (Korea Press Foundation, 2020), Senior Researcher Oh Seuk stated, "Closing or blocking comments is not the only solution, and continuous improvement of comment policies is necessary," adding, "For this, open communication based on mutual trust among users, academia, and businesses is important."

There is also expert analysis emphasizing the need to strengthen the social atmosphere that discourages malicious comments. Professor Kwak Geumju of Seoul National University's Department of Psychology said, "The most important thing is for individuals to refrain from malicious comments. They must recognize that it is an act of violence against others and raise awareness about it," adding, "With the closure of comment sections on the two major portals, administrators need to issue warnings regarding malicious comments occurring on platforms like YouTube. If such measures are difficult, legal sanctions to reduce malicious comments could be an option."

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