Uijeongbu District Court.
The court sentenced YouTubers accused of spreading false facts ahead of the April 15 general election last year and warned of the harm of spreading’fake news’ by some private broadcasters. The 13th Criminal Division of the Uijeongbu District Law (Judge Da-ju Jeong) announced on the 14th that he recently sentenced a YouTuber, 47, who was accused of violating the Public Official Election Act, to jail in June. Looking at the ruling, Mr. A has conducted a private broadcast through YouTube since July 2019. Mr. A, who worked as a salesperson for several companies, initially broadcasted on the subject of the rights and interests of self-employed persons, but dealt with politics in line with the 4·15 general election last year. In February of last year, about two months before the general election, Mr. A took a car to the front of the election office of the candidate at the time of Lee Nak-yeon, and conducted a personal broadcast in real time through the YouTube channel in the car. During the broadcast, Mr. A said that he received a tip and displayed a picture of the guestbook Lee wrote during his prime minister days on the screen. In the guestbook picture,’Great but frugal, frugal but great, loved the people, and in front of the life of the President who was loved by the people, I become infinitely small and ashamed. 2018. 9. 26. Republic of Korea Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon’ was written. Based on this, he concluded that candidate Lee had pledged allegiance to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. When the viewers asked,’Is it real?’, Mr. A explained, “It was a long time ago, but you didn’t know it.” The number of viewers on this day reached 27,000, when stimulating words such as “red”, “spy”, and “scan wave” were poured out. However, the guestbook was confirmed as an article that Lee left in search of the birthplace of Vietnam’s first President Ho Chi Minh while visiting Vietnam to attend the funeral of former Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang on September 21, 2018, when he was in office as Prime Minister. Even in the case of the Sewol ferry, Mr. A said, “It is right that the left-wing planning sinking is right”, and referring to the people entering and exiting this preliminary candidate election office, “Daegaemun (Moonpa) mothers seem to move for money.” Spoke. The judiciary pointed out these points and was concerned about the phenomenon of’filter bubble’ and’echo chamber’ as a side effect of the recommendation function of video sharing services such as YouTube. Filter bubble refers to a phenomenon in which similar users are trapped in biased information by providing personalized information to personal preferences. Eco-chamber is a phenomenon in which, as a result of communication between similar tendencies, the information and opinions of others are distrusted and only their own stories are truly felt. The judiciary said, “The explosion of fake news due to the damage of the filter bubble and the eco chamber, and more seriously, the attitude of dismissing one’s existing knowledge and other information as fake news is increasing. He pointed out that the degree is severe in a political issue where the interest of Korean society is relatively high, and this leads our political reality to the arena of extremism and hatredism.” The judge said, “The personal and social damage caused by fake news through online content is severe, but once it is spread, there is no appropriate response plan.” “In the end, if it is illegal after strict judicial review and review, it is bound to punish.” Revealed. However, he was wary of the decline in the freedom of political expression. The judge said, “Freedom of political expression refers to the freedom to express’views’, but does not include the freedom to spread false information for political reasons. “The opportunity for criticism and criticism of ordinary citizens against established politicians is guaranteed. It must be activated.” He added, “If the freedom of political expression is reduced, there is a concern that it will lead to the mass production of conspiracy theories, the rise of populist politicians, and the collapse of the liberal democratic system. By Park Kyung-man, staff reporter [email protected]