Trump era to hear from the Kyoko Shimbun- "Reality overtakes fiction" January 14, 20:15

"Defeated Mr. Trump, motivated to be" Japan's first foreign prime minister "".

This is a joke article that became a hot topic on the Internet immediately after the US presidential election last year.

The article was written by a man in Shiga prefecture who runs a news site on the Internet called "Kyoko Shimbun".

The man, who has published numerous joke articles for 17 years, says he will have mixed feelings about President Trump's retirement next week.

How do men who have continued to send out "fiction" see "fake news" and corona wreckage?

We responded to the interview on condition of anonymity.

(Otsu Broadcasting Station reporter, Gen Matsumoto)

The owner who appeared in a "mask"

"Hello, My name is .UK".

NHK's Otsu Broadcasting Station.

A man appeared at the appointed time.

She wears a mask with a boy's face designed on it.

When I talk to him, he gives a polite greeting with a soft impression.

The UK is because I was interested in the UK, but I was reminded not to write any information that could lead to personal identification.

The trigger was April Fool's Day

The "Kyoko Shimbun" was launched in 2004.

It is said that the reason was that when he was a student, he posted a "lie" on his hobby site.

"When I posted a lie article according to April Fool's Day, the readers were happy. The reaction became fun and I launched" Kyoko Shimbun ". When I was looking at the Kyoto Shimbun for reference, the word" KYOTO " I changed one character to "KYOKO" (fictional). "

Then 17 years.

Mr. UK has dealt with politics, culture, and spoiled material, and has distributed more than 1000 fictional articles.

For example, an article on the theme of Corona's social distance.

The government is requesting not to use the kanji "umbrella" and "graduate" because "people" are densely packed.

The content is laughable, such as "Calling people to write at least 2 meters away, even if they have to use it."

"When writing an article, we aim for the major material that everyone is interested in. The important thing is the balance of information. To be persuasive, it is not a lie at all, but an exquisite distance that is really likely but not possible. I try to maintain a sense of balance. "

Why keep sending fiction

"I don't understand the meaning of telling lies."

"I was confused and almost fooled."

Mr. UK says that he may be criticized for articles in which facts and lies live together.

But why continue to publish fictional articles?

It is said that the source is all about "I want readers to laugh."

For this reason, it is said that recently, we have devised a way to tell from the headline that it is "clearly fictional" so as not to cause misunderstanding.

There are also readers who enjoy the Kyoko Shimbun on the Internet.

"It's linked to real news, and on the contrary, I'm interested in the current affairs of the world." "A super-class parody."

Some even said, "I think articles in the Kyoko Shimbun are good teaching materials for media literacy."

"I'm most happy when the article that I wrote well in myself fits in with the reader's reaction. The reader said it was interesting, and what should I write next?" It's been something that has been going on for a long time, so if the readers don't respond, I can't continue the fictitious newspaper. "

"Misinformation" feared by the fictitious newspaper

However, in some cases, the "balance between lies and facts" is lost, and what I wrote in the article becomes a reality.

In that case, it would be a "misinformation" for the Kyoko Shimbun.

The "misinformation" that I recently issued was related to the new coronavirus.

The article says, "At an elementary school in Tokyo, we relayed an athletic meet with a baton of 2 meters in length in order to secure a distance between children."

I intended to write it as a joke, but immediately after publishing the article, an athletic meet using a 2-meter baton was actually held at an elementary school in Kanagawa prefecture.

Immediately, he posted an "apology" on the Kyoko Shimbun website, and apologized for "the extreme of grief" and "the result of rushing to get a scoop with the corona wreck, and underestimating the possibility of what would happen in reality."

It quickly became a hot topic on the internet.

The birth of the shocked President Trump

Five years ago, there was an event that shocked Mr. UK.

Mr. Trump won the US presidential election.

"I was really surprised because I didn't think I would win. Of course, I thought Hillary would win, so I prepared a fictional article to publish after the election. But Trump won. That's why it's now in storage. "

A sense of crisis due to the spread of fake news

Furthermore, from the middle of the election, information that was not true was spread around SNS, and the word "fake news" was gradually attracting attention.

"Pope also supports Mr. Trump."

"Mr. Clinton sells weapons to IS = Islamic State."

Fake information that is not based on facts will also affect the real world.

In December 2016, a man who believed in fake news that "Mr. Clinton was involved in a child prostitution organization" broke into a pizza restaurant in Washington, DC, and fired a gun.

At first, Mr. UK thought that the spread of fake news would be stopped, but he said that he sometimes felt a sense of crisis about how many people really received it.

Draw a line between fiction and fake

One question here is ...

fiction and fake.

Is it so different?

UK argues that there is a big difference.

"I don't want you to be with fake. The big difference is the caller's intent. I think fake news has the desire to forge politically favorable stories and spread specific ideas. However, the Kyoko Shimbun is conscious of making works that make people laugh. I try to make it lie when I read it, and I have no intention of controlling the reader's way of thinking like fake. "

Thoughts on the "facts" in April Fool's Day

Such an unexpected "reality" came suddenly last year for Mr. UK.

The emergence of a new type of coronavirus.

April 1, last year, when the infection was spreading.

UK publishes an article with a special feeling.

Heading "new" to "other people's affairs" rather than "my events", "corona".

The contents of the interview to the person familiar with the science for the new coronavirus, tell the symptoms and infection prevention measures at the time of infection.

Unlike usual, Everything written is said to be a "fact."

"April Fool's Day is a day when you can lie once a year. It's the opposite for the Kyoko Shimbun, it's the only day to write the truth. Just as the infection was spreading, it's true in the media. There was a lot of false information, so I decided to pick up Corona and do serious journalism. It's most beneficial for the reader to tell only what they know about Corona, not speculation. I thought it would be. "

In the post-Trump era ...

The present age when fake is widespread.

Mr. UK says that as the times progress, he sometimes feels an unexpected role in "fiction."

"In the last few years, it has been said that'the reality is overtaking the fictitious newspaper.'The reality is that the election of President Trump and the withdrawal of Britain from the EU will not be possible until now. In an era where a large amount of information can be received, not everyone receives the information as it is, but just realizes that they can stop and think, "This is a fictitious newspaper."

Finally, I asked him what he would like to see in the post-Trump era, a two-hour interview.

"It's called the" new normal "era, but you don't have to say" new ". I want you to return to" normal "normally. The word" buzz "on the net is old-fashioned. In the coming era, I want you to regain the pillar of "common sense" once again. The world continues as it was four or five years ago, including the settlement of the corona. I'm most grateful to have you go back to normal times. "

Fictitious newspaper and me

I have been a reporter for three years.

In today's world full of information, "fake" and "fiction" may differ depending on the recipient.

It becomes difficult to distinguish between "facts" and "lie", and you may be wondering what the facts are and what it means to tell the facts.

The words that Mr. UK spoke are impressive.

"Facts are basically very commonplace, so they may not be attractive, but because the facts are firmly based, there is some silly information like a fictitious newspaper, and the media The role may be a modest job, but I want you to do your best. "

"Let's do our best toward the facts."

It was the beginning of 2021 that renewed that determination.

Otsu Broadcasting Station Reporter Gen

Matsumoto

Joined in 2018

After working as a police officer, he is

currently in

charge of

municipal administration, academics, and culture.