Not Just Korea... 'Similar Logic' Global Conspiracy Theories on Election Fraud Trapped Worldwide [YouTube and Confirmation Bias]

Fake News and Conspiracy Theories Become Political Issues
Election Fraud Controversies Stir the U.S. and Japan
Similar Logic to South Korea
Election Fraud Claims Lead to Violent Protests in Brazil and Paraguay

Editor's NoteIn an era where people search for information on YouTube before portal sites, YouTube's algorithm, which recommends videos that match users' interests, is deepening confirmation bias on political and social issues. What kind of political world are individual YouTubers, who gather supporters divided into far-right and far-left camps, showing us? Can the world they present truly be trusted? Are we only watching what we want to believe through YouTube due to the filter bubble created by the algorithm? Asia Economy has decided to verify this.

Early voting has many ways to commit fraud because security is lax. We cannot even trust the company that makes the vote counting machines themselves.

This sounds like the election fraud claims that President Yoon Suk-yeol also believed in South Korea, but in fact, it is a compilation of some election fraud theories that spread through YouTube channels during last year's general election and current gubernatorial election in Japan. It is not much different from the claims of far-right political YouTubers in South Korea. On the 21st, President Yoon appeared in person at the Constitutional Court impeachment trial and made election fraud a contentious issue by saying, "Before declaring martial law, there were many doubts about the fairness and trustworthiness of the election." In the United States, election fraud theories that spread via YouTube remain an unresolved political issue. Former U.S. President Donald Trump gave weight to election fraud claims by saying in his inauguration speech that the 2020 election he lost was "completely rigged."

Protesters in Brazil clashed with mounted police while storming the presidential palace, with police officers falling to the ground. AFP. Photo by AFP

Regardless of Left or Right... Election Fraud Theories That Appear Every Election

Election fraud theories are not new in South Korean history. During the 16th presidential election in 2002, when then-candidate Roh Moo-hyun of the Millennium Democratic Party won by a 2.3% point margin over Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party, voices calling for recounts and allegations of vote counting fraud arose among Grand National Party supporters. A prominent speaker who later advocated election fraud theories was broadcaster Kim Eo-jun, who currently hosts the YouTube show 'Kim Eo-jun's Humility is Difficult News Factory.' Kim claimed there was election fraud in the 18th presidential election when Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri Party defeated Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party by 3.5% points. He argued that electronic vote counting machines could be manipulated at will and that the proportion of Park's votes, which were recounted due to being classified as uncounted by the ballot sorter, was 1.5 times higher than Moon's, coining the term 'K-value 1.5.' The 'K-value' means that the ratio between candidates should be '1:1' under normal circumstances, but since a '1:1.5' ratio appeared, someone allegedly manipulated the results.

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

Kim even produced a documentary film to prove his claims. At the screening, he stated, "This film was not made to raise issues at the level of conspiracy theories." Subsequently, various movements arose mainly on social networking services (SNS). On the portal site Daum's 'Agora,' about 200,000 netizens signed a petition requesting a recount, and groups demanded explanations from the National Election Commission. Although the Election Commission refuted the election fraud theories through simulations, criticism that the explanations were not credible continued. The situation was not much different from today.

U.S.: Trump Claims "38 Million Ballots Sent Somewhere"

In the United States, election fraud theories became contentious again with Trump's inauguration. On the 20th (local time), President Trump said at the inauguration, "This election produced great results in California, but the problem is that we don't even know where they sent 38 million ballots," reviving election fraud claims. He described the 2020 election, which he lost, as a "completely rigged election" and continued the fraud narrative by saying, "We got many more votes than in the first election (2016), but they said we lost."

In the U.S., election fraud theories spread mainly through YouTube and X (formerly Twitter). Similar claims surfaced during the U.S. presidential election held last November. Rumors spread on YouTube and X that Pennsylvania state officials, along with correctional officers in five states including Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Arizona, manipulated inmate votes. Videos circulated claiming that the FBI was advising voters not to vote and to stay home due to terrorism threats. Although the FBI denied these videos as fake, the 'fake videos' were continuously shared on SNS, rallying supporters.

On X, a user identifying as Canadian posted a photo of a ballot with the caption "I came across the border to vote," which was shared widely on YouTube and sparked outrage among netizens. Additionally, videos showing Haitians voting in Georgia were posted, creating the narrative that "foreigners who are not Americans are illegally interfering in the vote." All of these were fake videos and photos produced by individuals.

Reuters Yonhap News

Japan Claims Election Fraud from Both Left and Right... Distrust in Early Voting and Vote Counting Machines

In Japan, suspicions related to election fraud arose during every election last year, including the Kumamoto gubernatorial election in March, the Tokyo gubernatorial election in July, and the House of Representatives election in October. Claims spread on YouTube and SNS that ballot boxes were swapped in advance voting, similar to South Korea's early voting system. The Japanese Election Commission explained, "There are CCTV cameras, and if the boxes are opened, they are sealed with tape to show signs of tampering. Moreover, multiple staff members always transport the boxes together to rule out the possibility of election fraud."

Unlike South Korea, Japan's election fraud theories are raised across all political camps regardless of political orientation. The progressive camp has long raised concerns about the reliability of vote counting machines. They claimed that the largest shareholder of 'Musashi,' the company that manufactures vote counting machines in Japan, was the late former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and that election results were continuously manipulated to favor the Liberal Democratic Party. The political characteristics of Japan, where the LDP has maintained a one-party dominant system for a long time, and the dissatisfaction of opposition supporters have created these election fraud theories.

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

Conservative YouTubers also claimed that the political characteristics of voters in certain regions are linked to election fraud. They referred to Okinawa, where many progressive voters reside, as a "special election fraud zone where violations of the Public Official Election Act are rampant," and raised conspiracy theories that "fraud always occurs, but Okinawan media never mention it."

With the widespread use of YouTube and SNS breaking down communication borders, believers in election fraud theories are sometimes uniting regardless of nationality. Regarding the 'fake news' that 99 Chinese spies were arrested by South Korean and U.S. military authorities at the Central Election Commission building in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, during the declaration of martial law on December 3rd, Japanese users on X shared content claiming that the 99 Chinese detainees were being investigated at a U.S. military base facility in Okinawa. They showed solidarity by saying, "If South Korea's election fraud is proven true, Japan's election fraud will no longer be a mere conspiracy theory."

It Doesn't End with Belief... 'Seobu District Court Riots' Worldwide

Election fraud theories that arise every election have led to violent protests incited by YouTubers. Among the supporters of President Yoon Suk-yeol arrested for riots at Seoul Seobu District Court and the Constitutional Court, far-right YouTubers were reportedly included, and similar patterns are seen in the United States.

The New York Times, investigating the top 1 to 30 popular right-wing YouTube channels along with the progressive media watchdog Media Matters, found that they posted 286 videos related to election fraud, with total views exceeding 47 million.As the claims spread, in January 2021, when Joe Biden was confirmed as president-elect, Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Over 700 people were arrested, and protesters were shot and killed by police. It was an unprecedented incident in which a police officer assigned to Congress died during the suppression.

Nevertheless, President Trump continues to strategically use YouTube. The U.S. public broadcaster NPR reported in an article titled "How Trump's Influencer Tour Helped His Victory" that "Trump appeared frequently on TikTok, podcasts, and YouTube for this re-election. Through conversations with influencers, the focus was likely on his human side rather than current issues."

In January 2023, supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro similarly claimed election fraud and occupied the Brazilian Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential office. In May 2023, the same occurred in Paraguay following the U.S. and Brazil. Protesters were supporters of far-right Paraguayan candidate Santiago Pe?a of the National Crusade Party, who also claimed fraud in electronic voting.