Suspicions Raised Over Friend A's Crime
Views Soar from Hundreds of Thousands to Millions... Up to 268 Times Increase
Estimated Monthly Earnings in Tens of Millions of Won
[Asia Economy Reporters Donghoon Jeong and Jeongyun Lee] A YouTuber who identified himself as a former journalist has been recording rapid growth day after day. This is due to uploading videos related to the late Sohn Jeong-min, who went missing and was found dead at Hangang Park. Before Sohn's disappearance incident, the average views of the 10 videos he uploaded were around 2,000. However, the average views of the recent 10 videos related to this incident reached 539,000. This is an increase of 268 times.
The video uploaded on the 15th of this month contained content suggesting suspicions of a crime by friend A, and it recorded 920,000 views. According to the YouTube statistics analysis site NoxInfluencer, the YouTuber's subscriber count also increased significantly. The number of subscribers remained around 50,000 from January this year until the 7th of this month, but after Sohn and the incident became public, it surged to 130,000 on that day. The subscribers increased by about 76,000 in just 20 days.
The same applies to another YouTuber who created a related Naver cafe and held a press conference after the incident. The average views of the recent 10 videos related to Sohn reached 539,000, with some videos recording over 1.15 million views. In contrast, the average views of 10 other videos were only 22,000. The subscriber count was about 69,000 until the 7th of this month but increased to about 161,000 on that day.
On the 27th, Asia Economy examined four YouTube channels that intensively raised suspicions related to Sohn's case. It was found that the average views of 10 videos related to Sohn increased from 18 to 268 times compared to the average of 10 previous videos unrelated to Sohn. YouTubers who previously recorded only hundreds to thousands of views on videos not related to Sohn have been posting videos focusing on Sohn since the end of last month, with views ranging from hundreds of thousands to over one million.
They focus intensively on specific issues and upload edited videos of news reports and footage. They are also called "Cyber Wrecker," likened to tow trucks that appear instantly at traffic accident scenes. They played a role in expanding and reproducing suspicions online regarding Sohn's death, such as "It was not an accidental fall but a homicide," and "The friend is suspected as the homicide suspect." Their monthly earnings are estimated to reach tens of millions of won.
The activities of YouTubers on matters of national interest do have positive functions. Professor Myung-ho Lim of the Department of Psychology at Dankook University said, "(The Sohn case) created a mystery by progressing step-by-step with plausible suspects and emotional appeals related to the crime, attracting public interest," and added, "YouTube allows two-way communication, and the fact that (social) communication is possible regarding this incident is positive."
However, the attitude toward covering Sohn's case carries considerable problems. They use sensational and definitive words such as "shock," "truth," and "mass murder" in YouTube titles or thumbnails to attract viewers. Content relying on poorly substantiated conspiracy theories dominates. Professor Lim stated, "Distributing false information is wrong," and "YouTubers gain too much profit compared to the punishment for distributing such fake news. Strict legal punishment is necessary for clear fake news."
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