[News Terms] Fake Reports Called "Swatting" That Even Haley Fell Victim To

In the United States, as the presidential election approaches this November, there has been a significant increase in 'swatting'?threatening politicians through false emergency calls.

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Swatting is a neologism derived from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams in the U.S. It originated several years ago as a form of harassment among online gamers. Recently, it has been widely used as a political terror tactic, involving false reports of emergencies such as terrorist attacks or shootings to dispatch SWAT teams or emergency responders. This phenomenon is analyzed as a result of intensified political over-involvement amid increasingly polarized factional conflicts.

Although the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has declared strict punishment to prevent swatting from spreading like a trend, the practice has surged further since the start of the Republican presidential primary. Swatting targets have indiscriminately expanded across factions, including candidates competing against former President Donald Trump, individuals involved in his trials, and pro-Trump figures.

A typical example is the swatting incident involving Nikki Haley, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, who is competing against former President Trump. According to foreign media, on the 1st, the Charleston County Sheriff's Office in South Carolina received a false report claiming Haley's daughter was found collapsed and bleeding heavily, and that Haley threatened self-harm with a gun. Previously, on December 30 last year, a man falsely reported to 911 that "while Haley was staying at her home on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, she would shoot my girlfriend and then harm herself."

Not only individuals related to former President Trump's trial but also those close to him have not been exempt. On the 11th, a false bomb threat was reported at the home of Arthur Engoron, the Manhattan District Court judge presiding over Trump's fraud loan trial. On the 7th, the Jefferson City Police Department in Missouri received a false report claiming that the wife of Jay Ashcroft, the state Secretary of State and a Trump supporter, had been shot, and that the caller intended to commit suicide.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, ahead of the April general elections, following the assault incidents involving Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Bae Hyun-jin, member of the People Power Party, posts threatening political figures with 'terror warnings' have frequently appeared online, and the police are reportedly investigating these cases.

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