This may sound like the election fraud claims in Korea that even President Yoon Suk Yeol once believed, but in fact, this is a summary of the election fraud theories that spread via YouTube during last year's general election and gubernatorial races in Japan. These claims are hardly different from those made by far-right political YouTubers in Korea. On the 21st, President Yoon Suk Yeol personally attended the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial and said, "Before martial law was declared, there were many doubts about the fairness and trustworthiness of various elections," making election fraud a major issue. In the US, the election fraud theory that spread through YouTube remains an unresolved political controversy. Former US President Donald Trump, in his inauguration speech, reinforced the fraud theory about the 2020 election, in which he was defeated, saying it was "completely rigged."

The election fraud theory did not originate in Korea. During the 16th presidential election in 2002, when Roh Moo Hyun of the Millennium Democratic Party defeated Lee Hoi Chang of the Grand National Party by 2.3 percentage points, Grand National Party supporters raised suspicions about fraudulent vote counting and called for a recount. The most prominent speaker of election fraud theories was Kim Eo Jun, a broadcaster who now hosts the YouTube show 'Kim Eo Jun's Humility is Power News Factory.' Kim claimed that there was election fraud in the 18th presidential election, when Park Geun Hye of the Saenuri Party beat Moon Jae In of the Democratic United Party by 3.5 percentage points. He argued that electronic vote counters could easily be manipulated, and that the hand-counted votes for Park, which were classified as "unclassified" by the ballot sorting machine, were 1.5 times higher than those for Moon, calling this the "K-value 1.5." The "K-value" claim argued that the ratio between candidates should be 1:1, but since it was 1:1.5, someone must have manipulated it.

Documentary DVD cover of broadcaster Kim Eojun's 'The Plan.' It contains content suggesting many suspicious circumstances that the 18th presidential election held in 2012 may have been rigged. Yes24.

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Kim even produced a documentary film to prove his claims at the time. At the premiere, he stated, "I didn't make this film to raise issues at the level of a conspiracy theory." Afterwards, various movements emerged, especially on social networking services (SNS). On Daum Agora, a portal site, about 200,000 netizens signed a petition calling for a recount, and groups demanded explanations from the National Election Commission. The commission conducted mock experiments to refute the fraud theory, but criticism that it was untrustworthy persisted. The situation is not much different from today.

In the US, the election fraud theory has resurfaced with Trump's inauguration. At his inauguration on the 20th (local time), President Trump said, "This election produced great results in California, but the problem is, we don't even know where they sent the 38 million ballots," once again bringing up election fraud. Referring to the 2020 election, in which he lost, he called it a "completely rigged election" and added, "I received far more votes than in the first election (2016), but they said we lost," continuing his fraud narrative.

In the US, election fraud theories spread mainly through YouTube and X (formerly Twitter). In the presidential election held last November, similar claims emerged. Rumors spread on YouTube and X that Pennsylvania state officials and prison guards had manipulated inmate votes not only in Pennsylvania but also in Georgia, Arizona, and three other states. Videos circulated claiming that the FBI was warning voters not to vote and to stay home due to possible terror threats. Although the FBI publicly stated that these videos were fake, the "fake videos" continued to be shared on SNS, rallying supporters.

On X, a person claiming to be Canadian posted a photo of a ballot, saying, "I crossed the border to vote," and this was shared via YouTube, causing outrage among netizens. There was even a video claiming to show Haitians voting in Georgia, fueling the narrative that "foreigners, not Americans, are illegally interfering in the vote." All of these were fake videos and photos staged by individuals.

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In Japan, suspicions of election fraud surfaced in every election, including the Kumamoto gubernatorial election in March last year, the Tokyo gubernatorial election in July, and the House of Representatives election in October. In "pre-election day voting," similar to Korea's early voting system, claims that ballot boxes were swapped in advance spread on YouTube and SNS. In response, the Japanese election commission explained, "There are CCTV cameras, and the boxes are sealed with tape that shows if it has been tampered with. To rule out the possibility of fraud, multiple staff members always transport the boxes together."

The difference from Korea is that in Japan, election fraud theories are raised by all political camps, regardless of ideology. The progressive camp has long questioned the reliability of vote counting machines. They claimed that the largest shareholder of Musashi, the company that makes the machines, was the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and that election results were continuously manipulated in favor of the Liberal Democratic Party. The long-standing dominance of the LDP and the dissatisfaction of opposition supporters have fueled these fraud theories.

Thumbnail of the news report "Verification of False Information on Election Fraud" by Japan NHK. NHK.

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Conservative YouTubers claimed that the political tendencies of voters in certain regions were linked to election fraud. For example, they referred to Okinawa, known for its progressive voters, as a "special zone of election fraud where violations of the Public Official Election Act are rampant," and argued that "fraud always occurs, but the Okinawan media never reports it," promoting conspiracy theories.

With the widespread use of YouTube and SNS, borders have become less relevant in communication, and people who believe in election fraud theories are forming groups regardless of nationality. For example, when the fake news that Korean and US military authorities arrested 99 Chinese spies at the National Election Commission building in Suwon during the December 3 martial law declaration spread, Japanese users on X shared claims that "the 99 Chinese caught at the election training center were investigated at a US military base in Okinawa." They argued, "If Korea's election fraud is proven real, Japan's election fraud will not be just a conspiracy theory," showing a sense of solidarity.

Election fraud theories that surface every election are leading to violent protests incited by YouTubers. Just as far-right YouTubers were among the pro-Yoon Suk Yeol protesters arrested for riots at the Seoul Western District Court and the Constitutional Court, the US has seen similar patterns.

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The New York Times, together with the progressive media watchdog Media Matters, investigated the top 30 popular right-wing YouTube channels in the US and found that they posted 286 videos related to election fraud, with total views exceeding 47 million.As these claims spread, in January 2021, when Joe Biden was confirmed as president-elect, Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, shouting election fraud. Over 700 people were arrested, and a protester was shot and killed by police. In an unprecedented event, a Capitol Police officer also died during the crackdown.

Nevertheless, President Trump continues to use YouTube strategically. US public broadcaster NPR reported in an article titled "How Trump's Influencer Tour Helped Him Win" that "Trump appeared frequently on TikTok, podcasts, and YouTube for this re-election. Through conversations with influencers, not current issues but his personal side was emphasized."

Brazilian protesters who stormed the presidential palace clashed with mounted police, resulting in police officers falling to the ground. AFP. Photo by AFP

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In January 2023, supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro also claimed election fraud and occupied not only the Brazilian Congress but also the Supreme Court and the presidential office. In May 2023, similar events occurred in Paraguay following the US and Brazil. The protesters were supporters of far-right Paraguayo Cubas of the National Crusade Party, who also claimed that fraud had occurred in electronic voting.