Fake but looks real
South Korea will elect a new president on May 9, and 'fake news' has become a huge problem. Fabian Kretschmer reports from Seoul. A short online video has likely affected the final result of South Korea's current presidential election: the shaky film shows Ban Ki-moon visiting the grave of his ancestors. In Confucian South Korea, this is an important symbolic gesture – especially considering the fact that the parting UN secretary general was thought to be the only hope for the country's conservative camp, and in January was being touted as South Korea's next president. At that point, Ban was far ahead in opinion polls. But in the video, he was seen breaking a very serious taboo: during the grave ritual he drank a glass of rice wine intended for his ancestors. Tens of thousands of internet users were appalled. The general consensus of the outcry: the career politician from New York had lost touch with his South Korean roots and was hence unacceptable as a po...