Left out of political discourse, young Koreans turn up the dial on conspiracy theories

AI핵심 요약

• ·After election turmoil, misinformation is spreading across social media as frustrated young adults seek answers outside mainstream political discourse.
• ·Conspiracy theories that have repeatedly surfaced during periods of political and social turmoil are once again spreading in the wake of the ballot shortage in the June 3 local elections, and younger generations who feel marginalized by mainstream political discourse are falling down internet rabbit holes.
• ·Confusion broke out around the Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Olympic Park in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Wednesday, when some participants of protests condemning the voting fiasco spread claims that Chinese public security officers had disguised themselves as Korean police officers.
• ·On social media, some users also posted photographs of individual protesters and circulated baseless rumors claiming that members of the Korean University Progressive Union were posing as infiltrators to sow division within the demonstrations.
• ·Such conspiracy theories have also spread through short-form platforms popular among people in their 20s and 30s, including Instagram Reels, as well as online university communities such as Everytime.