False information that appears to have been reported on NHK news is spreading on the old Twitter account X, claiming that Megumi Yokota, a victim abducted by North Korea, is the same person as North Korea's foreign minister. False information disguised as news organizations has been reported one after another, including the Noto Peninsula earthquake, so we need to be careful.
Since March 30th, NHK News has been spreading completely baseless false information that claims that abductee Megumi Yokota and North Korean Foreign Minister Choi Son-hee are the same person.
This false information fraudulently uses an image from NHK's news on March 30, which reported a statement issued by Foreign Minister Choe regarding the abduction issue, to post completely different content, and is reposted on multiple accounts. As of noon on April 1st, it had been viewed at least 11 million times.
While some users pointed out that the subtitles on the screen were unnatural and called them "fake," there were also posts that appeared to misunderstand that the subtitles were actually broadcast.
In the past, false information created using generative AI has been posted on sites such as X, using the logo of a commercial broadcaster to claim that Prime Minister Kishida said something he did not actually say, and also after the Noto Peninsula earthquake. There is a risk that false or incorrect information may be posted on SNS pretending to be from a news organization, such as fake posts about the Hokuriku Electric Power Shiga Nuclear Power Plant using the NHK logo.
You need to be careful, such as checking the website to see if it is actually published by a news organization.