Just Because It's Trending Doesn't Mean It's True — Fact checking at the speed of likes since 2015

Fact Check: Image Of Former President Yoon Suk Yeol Crying With First Lady Kim Kun Hee After Impeachment NOT Real

Fact Check

Did former President Yoon Suk Yeol cry with former First Lady Kim Kun Hee when the Constitutional Court upheld the impeachment motion against him? No, that's not true: The video is watermarked with "Kling AI 1.6," an AI-video generator. There was no evidence online to suggest that ex-President Yoon was crying when the Constitutional Court announced a unanimous decision to…

Fact Check: Jun Hyun Moo Did Not Visit President Yoon Suk Yeol At The Seoul Detention Center

Fact Check

Did Jun Hyun Moo visit President Yoon Suk Yeol at the Seoul Detention Center? No, that's not true: There was no evidence of Jun Hyun Moo visiting the Seoul Detention Center or meeting President Yoon. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on February 26, 2025. The caption in the video reads, translated from Korean into English by…

Fact Check: Jang Yoon-jeong Did NOT Say She Supports Yoon Suk-yeol

Fact Check

Did Trot singer Jang Yoon-jeong say she supports Yoon Suk-yeol? No, that's not true: She did not mention Yoon Suk-yeol or any related issue on her social media. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on February 20, 2025, under the title "#뉴스 #정치 #윤석열" translated from Korean into English by Lead Stories staff as "#news…

Fact Check: Video Does NOT Show Massive Rally By Supporters Of Impeached President Yoon Suk-Yeol In South Korea

Fact Check

Does a viral video show a massive crowd at a rally by President Yoon Suk-Yeol's supporters in South Korea? No, that's not true: The video shows people gathered for the 2025 New Year countdown's celebrations in Nanchang, China. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published on January 3, 2025, under the title "일어나라!축제 한 맺힌 함성!!! 윤석열…

Fact Check: Chinese Spies Did NOT Manipulate South Korea's Elections And Get Arrested

Fact Check

Did 99 Chinese spies manipulate South Korea's elections, get arrested, and then get sent to a U.S. military base in Japan? No, that's not true: The Korean National Election Commission (NEC) stated that this incident did not happen, and the United States Forces Korea (USFK) stated that they had no involvement regarding the alleged claim. The claim appeared in a…

Fact Check: President Yoon Suk Yeol's Approval Rating Did NOT Exceed 40 Percent After Impeachment In 2024

Fact Check

Did President Yoon Suk Yeol's approval rating increase by 10.1 percent in 2024, exceeding 40 percent, after he was impeached? No, that's not true. Although a video circulating on social media in January 2025 claimed that President Yoon's approval rating rose 10.1 percent in two months to 40.3 percent, the quoted rating was from a survey conducted between December 26…

Fact Check: Proposed 'Anti-discrimination Act' Did NOT Include 'Homosexuality Education' Or 'Ladies' Restroom Access For Anyone Who Claims To Be A Woman'

Fact Check

Did a proposed bill named 'Anti-discrimination Act' mandate 'homosexuality education' and 'unlimited access to ladies' restrooms for those who claim to be women?' No, that's not true: There was no related article in the bill. In addition, the bill did not pass and 'expired' when the Parliament term during which it was proposed ended. The claim originated from a video…

Fact Check: A Tea Made With Bitter Melon Does NOT Cure Diabetes

Fact Check

Can drinking tea made with bitter melon "make diabetes disappear" because of some specific substances it contains? No, that's not true: While the tropical vine has been linked to lowering blood sugar, it cannot cure diabetes. There is currently no permanent cure for diabetes but approved treatments help manage the condition. The claim originated from a TikTok video (archived here)…

Fact Check: Family Of Seven Did NOT Die From Consuming Commercially Frozen Food Stored For Nearly A Year

Fact Check

Did seven family members die from commercially frozen food that was stored for nearly a year? No, that's not true: They died from consuming frozen homemade fermented corn noodles, which contained a toxin called bongkrekic acid. The claim originated from a TikTok video (archived here) published on September 21, 2024. It opened, as translated from Korean to English by Lead…

Fact Check: Emergency Room Doctors CAN Refuse To Treat Patients On 'Justifiable Grounds' In South Korea

Fact Check

Is it true that South Korean doctors cannot refuse to treat patients who are already in a hospital's emergency room? No, that's not true: Emergency medical personnel can reject a patient in the ER if there are "justifiable grounds." The claim appeared in a video (archived here) that was published on TikTok, on September 7, 2024, under the title "응급실…

Fact Check: US VP Harris Did NOT Say She Is In Favor Of South Korea Having Nuclear Weapons

Fact Check

Did Kamala Harris say she approves South Korea to have nuclear weapons? No, that's not true: The U.S. vice president, who is campaigning for the 2024 U.S. presidency, stressed, instead, the importance of a "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." The claim originated from a video (archived here) published on TikTok on July 31, 2024, under the Korean title "[속보]…

Fact Check: Cucumber Water Does NOT Prevent Dementia Or Alzheimer's Disease

Fact Check

Does cucumber water prevent dementia or Alzheimer's disease because it contains a specific component called fisetin? No, that's not true: No scientific evidence suggests that cucumber and cucumber water can prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease. The claim originated from a TikTok video (archived here) which was published on August 28, 2024. It opened, as translated from Korean to English by…

Fact Check: K-Pop Group BLACKPINK Member Jennie Was NOT Replaced By Soloist Rosalía

Fact Check

Did YG Entertainment release a statement regarding K-Pop Group BLACKPINK member Jennie officially leaving the group and being replaced with a new soloist, Rosalia? No, that's not true: The agency, which manages the band as a group, has not released any statement regarding BLACKPINK member Jennie's departure. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published on June 29,…

Fact Check: K-Pop Group TripleS Member Kim Na Kyoung Is NOT An Olympic Badminton Player And Did NOT Win Gold At The 2024 Paris Games

Fact Check

Is K-Pop group tripleS member Kim Na Kyoung an Olympic badminton player who won the gold medal in the Paris 2024 Olympics? No, that's not true: There is no evidence on the official Olympics website to suggest that tripleS member Kim Na Kyoung competed in the Olympics as a badminton player, as she is not part of the national team.…

Fact Check: Former First Lady Kim Jeong Sook Did NOT Steal Clothing From 2018 Diplomatic Visit To India

Fact Check

Did former First Lady Kim Jeong Sook steal clothing from her diplomatic visit to India in 2018? No, that's not true: former First Lady Kim Jeong Sook altered the sari she was gifted by the former First Lady of India Savita Kovind into a blouse and wore it to a diplomatic luncheon with Kovind in 2018. The claim appeared in…

Fact Check: Former First Lady Kim Jung-sook Did NOT Spend 62 Million Won On Her In-flight Meals During 2018 India Visit

Fact Check

Did former South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook spend 62.92 million won on her in-flight meals during her visit to India in 2018? No, that's not true: The total cost covered in-flight meals charges for 50 members of the delegation, including freight and refrigeration costs. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) where it was published on TikTok, on…

Fact Check: GFRIEND's Disbandment And Hand Sign In ILLIT's Song Are NO Evidence HYBE Is Related To Cult

Fact Check

Did multinational entertainment company HYBE disband GFRIEND, a girl pop group, on a specific date with a particular meaning - May 1, 2021, - and is this proof, along with other signs in songs of other HYBE artists such as ILLIT, that they are related to a cult called 'Dahn World'? No, that's not true: GFRIEND was not disbanded on…

Fact Check: President Yoon's Government Did NOT Announce It Would Hand Over Dokdo Island To Japan

Fact Check

Did President Yoon Seok Yeol's government announce that they will hand over Dokdo (Takeshima Island) to Japan? No, that's not true: Dokdo Island remains an integral part of South Korean territory, and there was no evidence of President Yoon's administration announcing the handover of the long-disputed territory to Japan. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published on…

Fact Check: Half-Cut Control Number On Ballot Is NOT Evidence Of Rigged Election In South Korea

Fact Check

Did the South Korean government rig the 2024 parliamentary election because ballots with half-cut control numbers were found? No, that's not true: A half-cut control number on the ballot does not signify an irregular vote. The Constitutional Court already refuted a similar claim in 2023. The claim originated from a video (archived here) published on TikTok on April 22, 2024,…

Fact Check: Democratic Party Leader Lee Jae-myung Did NOT Pledge To Reunify Korea, Withdraw US Troops Or Unconditionally Thank China

Fact Check

Did Democratic Party Leader Lee Jae-myung commit to pledges such as an end-of-war declaration, withdrawal of U.S. troops from South Korea, transition to a lower-level federal system, North Korean-style absorption reunification, dissolution of conglomerates, dismantling of churches, and unconditionally thanking China? No, that's not true: No evidence was found to suggest that Lee made such pledges on the official Democratic…