It looked to many people in South Korea like an obvious example of political satire, a clever piece of digital manipulation teasing the country’s divisive president, Yoon Suk-yeol. But now a viral video has set off a debate about the limits of ridicule, the responsibilities of technology companies and what exactly constitutes a “deep fake”.
The South Korean authorities have blocked the 46-second film and Yoon’s government has promised to root out similar “fake news”. Opponents accuse him of suppressing legitimate expressions of criticism as his popularity declines ahead of a parliamentary election in April.
The video was called “President Yoon’s Fictionalised Sincere Confession Speech”. It appeared last November and its implausibility as a genuine statement by a national leader was obvious from the beginning.
“I, Yoon Suk-yeol, enforced and executed laws that inflicted pain on people,” it began. “The incompetent and crooked Yoon administration constantly indulged in … unfair practices and corruption. I ruined our country and inflicted grief and anguish by clinging to an ideology that violates common sense. For me, what matters is not people’s livelihoods but political retaliation.”
However, rather than being a “deep fake” created by artificial intelligence, the video used words and images skilfully spliced together from a real speech given by the president in 2022, when he was campaigning for election. As it was reposted on social media, including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, the title that indicated that it was “fictionalised” was sometimes removed.
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“Though some media outlets called the video political satire or justified its use because it was labelled ‘fictionalised’, this runs counter to media ethics to combat disinformation,” Kim Soo-kyung, Yoon’s spokeswoman, said.
“The deceptively edited video is being reproduced on the internet without notifying viewers that it’s a fabrication, and this spread should be halted.”
The National Union of Media Workers said in a statement: “How can it be called anything other than satire when the creator of the video said in advance that it was a ‘fictionalised President Yoon’s confession’?”
Yoon’s ruling People Power Party filed a complaint against the creator of the video, accusing the person who uploaded it of “defamation by means of false information”. South Korean police said that they have identified its creator and are investigating them under a recently passed law that criminalises the uploading of deepfake videos within 90 days of an election.
Offenders can be punished with up to seven years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won (£30,000).
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The South Korean government has also announced the creation of an official task force on false information and fake news, after claims by ruling party politicians that big technology companies have been slow to act against them.
