[2020 National Audit] "Most COVID-19 Fake News Corrections on 'Naver Cafe'"

Published 21 Oct.2020 08:55(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Buaeri] The site that received the most corrective actions related to fake news about the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was found to be 'Naver Cafe.'

According to the 'Detailed Review of Information Causing Social Confusion Related to COVID-19' submitted by the Korea Communications Standards Commission to Cho Seung-rae, a member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, out of a total of 196 cases, Naver Cafe received 47 corrective actions.

Following Naver Cafe were YouTube (23 cases), Facebook (22 cases), Naver Blog (21 cases), DC Inside (14 cases), and Ilbe Storage (12 cases).

The Communications Standards Commission issued corrective actions such as deleting or blocking access to fake news that could significantly cause social confusion due to false and manipulated information after the spread of COVID-19 earlier this year.

In the case of Naver Cafe, posts claiming that certain confirmed patients were employees of pharmaceutical companies or doctors were the most frequent.

On YouTube, after the '8.15 Conservative Rally,' content stating that 'after testing positive for COVID-19 at a public health center, a retest at a hospital came back negative' was widely shared.

On Facebook, the most common were composite photos of President Moon Jae-in giving a left-hand salute.

Rep. Cho also pointed out that under current law, the Communications Standards Commission lacks legal grounds for criminal punishment of fake news and only deletes or blocks access without requesting investigations. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters reports cases eligible for criminal punishment according to severity to the National Police Agency as part of a comprehensive government-wide response.

Rep. Cho emphasized, "It can be seen that fake news subject to corrective actions continues to be reproduced and expanded," adding, "Because fake news causing significant social confusion, especially regarding infectious diseases, is very serious, there is a need for institutional improvements allowing the Communications Standards Commission to track the original distributors and request investigations along with corrective actions."