110 Million Views Hit... The Truth Behind 'Mbappe Upset Over Japanese Reporter Ignoring Lee Kang-in' Video

Manipulating Question Generation and Answer Interpretation Using TTS Technology
Fake News Using Artificial Intelligence Becomes a Social Issue

French famous football player Kylian Mbapp? supporting Lee Kang-in's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and reprimanding a Japanese reporter who asked rude questions has been revealed to be an AI-generated fake video, causing shock.

Newly created questions, forced interpretation of answers... 11 million views

On the 15th of last month, the video was uploaded to a YouTube channel under the title "Mbapp? displeased with a Japanese reporter's question belittling Lee Kang-in." In the video, a reporter asked, "I heard that a football player named Lee Kang-in is coming. Do you think this is just a signing for marketing purposes?" and "What do you think about other Japanese players?" The subtitles described the person as a "Japanese reporter."

Mbapp? then shook his head with a displeased expression. The Korean subtitles read, "I trust (Lee Kang-in). He has talent, which is why he has come this far," and "I don't know the intention behind the question, but coming here means he is ready, and as a teammate, I trust him."

The video gained over 11 million views by riding on anti-Japanese sentiment and support for Lee Kang-in.

Netizens who saw this fake video reacted enthusiastically, saying things like "Mbapp? speaks as stylishly as his skills" and "He should be given Korean citizenship."

However, the voice of the Japanese reporter in the video was created using text-to-speech (TTS) technology, which synthesizes speech from text using a computer. Mbapp?'s response was actually from a 2021 press conference during 'Euro 2020.' Rumors about Lee Kang-in's transfer to PSG started circulating around mid-last month.

Mbapp?'s actual answer was to the question, "Will you decide on a contract renewal with PSG after the Euros?" He said, "I am not interested in renewing the contract right now. To avoid disturbing other players and the team, I will only talk about the French team."

On the 28th of last month, former football player Lee Chun-soo revealed on his YouTube channel 'Richunsoo' that the video was fake. Subsequently, other YouTube channels uploaded videos raising suspicions of manipulation, but those videos only garnered about 180,000 views.

Concerns over AI-generated fake information causing social confusion

In May, news spread about an explosion occurring within the Pentagon, the Department of Defense headquarters located in Arlington County, Virginia, USA, along with related photos. However, these are believed to be fake images generated by AI.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that fake videos and photos created and spread using artificial intelligence have caused controversy. In May, a fake image claiming a large explosion near the U.S. Department of Defense building (the Pentagon) spread through social media (SNS). The impact was so significant that it briefly shook the stock market.

In March, a fake photo of former U.S. President Donald Trump handcuffed and being arrested by police was circulated. Shortly after, a false photo of Pope Francis wearing a luxury Balenciaga padded jacket also surfaced.

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