Cashing in on 'fake news'

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Malicious YouTubers make money by creating hatred, stoking fear

By Bahk Eun-ji

In a video uploaded on YouTube on Feb. 5, a young man in a black mask expressed his condolences at the death of a female YouTuber named Cho Jang-mi, who was found dead last week at her home.

The masked YouTuber, known as "PPKKa" with 1.21 million subscribers, came under fire after Cho's death. He was singled out as the party who started spreading rumors about Cho, which allegedly drove her to take her own life. He denied the allegations in the video and claimed that he had no intention of attacking Cho.

Police also stated that there is no evidence indicating Cho was murdered.

"Many people are accusing me of having instigated internet communities and their members to drive her to kill herself, but this is not true…. I was and still am a YouTuber who follows issues and strikes at them when they pop up, nothing more than that," he said.

Captured image from YouTube channel "PPKKa". Screen captured from YouTube

He produces what he calls news about celebrities and fellow YouTubers and many of the videos have generated over 1 million views.

In one video, he criticizes a former member of a K-pop girl band for her recent remarks that living as a woman in Korea is tough. The YouTuber calls her a sexy diva-turned-feminist and paints her as an opportunist.

These social commentators who use social media platforms to benefit from the misfortune of others have become such an issue in Korea that the term "cyber wreckers" has come into common use here.

In many cases, analyses of news and current affairs by these YouTubers are baseless, but their influence in cyber space is enormous as the content can potentially inspire followers to circulate rumors online.

Cho ended her life after lamenting that she was wrongfully portrayed as a radical feminist.

But she is not the sole victim.

Kim In-hyeok, 28, a professional volleyball player, who has been known to have been subjected to sexual harassment and malicious comments about his appearance for a long time, was found dead at his home on Friday.

Kim had been distressed about malicious comments on his appearance through his social media account.

When the news of these deaths were reported, criticism ignited over YouTube channels that bullied the victims as well as the digital platforms that enable such abuse.

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In particular, many criticized YouTube, which has only given a lukewarm response regarding such users generating hate speech and discriminatory content.

Many of those criticizing YouTube applaud the actions of portal sites, such as Daum and Naver, that shut down comments sections under entertainment news after a number of celebrities and high-profile people killed themselves due to malicious online criticism.

Rep. Ryu Ho-jeong of the minor opposition Justice Party /Korea Times file

Despite the tragic events, there are still hundreds of videos containing rumors about Cho and Kim on YouTube.

Citizen's Coalition for Democratic Media (CCDM), a media-monitoring civic group, issued a statement last month urging YouTube and Google to fulfill their management responsibilities as they profit from online channels that produce malicious content.

"YouTube's influence is growing day by day. According to a survey on the perception of media audiences in 2021 by the Korea Press Foundation, it has already surpassed the Chosun Ilbo, one of the nation's leading daily newspapers, and the usage rate of YouTube reached 98.4 percent," the civic group said in a statement.

"Therefore, there is no doubt that YouTube and Google Korea should be criticized for neglecting responsibility for such channels that promote hate speech, discrimination and violence, or spread illegal content or false information."

Regarding the issue, the minor Justice Party presidential candidate Sim Sang-jung said at the National Assembly on Sunday, "While politicians are neglecting their responsibilities, digital sexual violence, including cyberbullying, has resulted in serious crimes that even see people killed."

Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong also wrote on her social media, "This is nothing but crime and murder. We should fight against malicious comments."

YouTube's algorithms are criticized for encouraging the cyber wrecker phenomenon.

YouTube does not disclose the specifics on the operation of its algorithms, but it is known that they are focused on increasing users' attention in the form of time spent watching video content.

YouTube's chief product officer, Neal Mohan, told CNET that around 70 percent of content that viewers watch is recommended by the video-sharing platform's algorithms and those recommendations keep mobile users watching for more than 60 minutes at a time on average.

Experts say that in addition to legislation of related laws and systems, it is necessary to improve user awareness.

The reason such cyber wreckers continue to bully others online despite the illegality of such actions is that videos containing such content are directly linked to revenue.

"Damage can be minimized only when substantial legal penalties exist, but user awareness must also be improved," said Jung Il-kwon, professor of media and communication department at Kwangwoon University.