"What Are We Supposed to Believe?" COVID Fake News Exhausting Citizens

COVID-19 Fake News Flood... Citizens 'Fuming'
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Broadcasting Commission "Media Must Follow Reporting Guidelines Including Fact-Checking"

Since the first confirmed case of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was reported in the country on January 20, it has been 51 days, and citizens are expressing fatigue over fake news related to COVID-19.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] "What exactly are we supposed to believe?"

Office worker A (29) recently expressed frustration over the overwhelming amount of fake news related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). He said, "The COVID-19 crisis is ongoing, and fake news is rampant, which makes me very angry. Even major media outlets are publishing sensational reports under these circumstances," he vented.

As the COVID-19 situation spreads, citizens are voicing criticism against fake news. Since the risk of infection is high, accurate information is essential, but some media outlets are not only publishing sensational reports but also completely false news, causing severe confusion.

According to one survey, 8 out of 10 citizens do not trust most of the news introduced by domestic media.

According to a social trust perception survey conducted by market research specialist Embrain Trend Monitor on the 12th of last month targeting 2,000 adult men and women aged 19 to 59 nationwide, 51.3% of respondents answered that they "doubt whether the news from the media is factual."

A representative fake news related to COVID-19 is the news claiming that Lee Man-hee, the founder of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, supports President Moon Jae-in.

As the controversy grew, the Blue House officially stated on its Facebook page on the 9th, "Claims circulating in some communities and YouTube channels about 'a photo of Shincheonji founder Lee Man-hee and President Moon taken during the presidential candidacy' are also not true."

Yoon Jae-kwan, deputy spokesperson of the Blue House, also warned at a briefing in the press center that day, "Recently, fake news has gone too far, and the Blue House views this very regretfully and is closely monitoring the serious situation," adding, "We will take principled measures including legal action."

There is also criticism that media outlets add sensational headlines to the same information to increase views. Photo by Getty Images Bank

As a result, public criticism against fake news is increasing. Office worker B (31), who said he usually keeps up with the news, said, "Reporters also check facts when writing articles, but since they are human, they can make mistakes and write incorrect information," and raised his voice saying, "More thorough verification is needed."

The problem is that such fake news is widely accepted in our society as if it were real news. According to the "General Public's Perception of Fake News" report (2017) published by the Korea Press Foundation, 76% of survey participants said they suspect news to be fake even when viewing real news because of fake news.

The foundation conducted an online survey over three days targeting 1,084 adults aged 20 to 50 to understand the general public's perception of fake news.

As a result, 32.3% of all respondents said they had encountered fake news this year. By age group, 20-somethings had the highest rate of encountering fake news at 37%, while those in their 50s had the lowest at 24.7%.

Experts emphasized the need to adhere to basics such as fact-checking during the reporting process. Kim Chang-ryong, a standing commissioner who attended the full meeting of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) held at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 11th, criticized, "Fact-checking is already done by reporters during the article writing process, and guidelines already exist, but the problem is that they are not being followed."

Han Sang-hyuk, chairman of the KCC, said, "Awareness of the harm caused by fake news has spread widely in our society, and various sectors need to actively prepare countermeasures," adding, "The KCC needs to consider how to concretize this report," suggesting the preparation of measures against fake news.