I want to talk a bit about misinformation spread on Twitter. I'm not going to put up screenshots of this particular instance because this situation wasn't the first, and it won't be the last. And I want us to be ready to handle it better and more critically when it happens again.

A quantified study from MIT showed that false info was 70% more likely to be retweeted than true stories. http://news.mit.edu/2018/study-twitter-false-news-travels-faster-true-stories-0308

Unique users are also more likely to engage with and retweet false info over true statements. The researchers behind this study suggest that this may be due to false info being more "new", and therefore more exciting. More scandalous. More fun!

Now, this study was done with true and false info that was communicated between English speakers. Can you imagine how much more quickly false information is able to spread if it has to go through one translation, or even a couple?

This happens all the time in kpop stan Twitter.

I checked the link last night, and that translator's post was the very first on here. You can see the study at work: so many things related to that rumor trended in only two or three hours, and spread to other SNS platforms too.

I'm trying not to go too deep into my translation criticisms right now, but here are some things to consider:

Translators know that they're a necessity for international fans, but few can actually fact-check their ability—both in Korean or the return language.

Translating short SNS posts or replying to Korean fans is very different from translating news.
Translators and interpreters in real life go through specialized education and training. Online translators do not, but we tend to assume they still have that objectiveness.

It's not just international fans who are forced to blindly depend on translators, but also the news reporters who are writing about and featuring kpop. These guys give Twitter translators a wider audience and legitimize their status every time they have to depend on them.

This unbalanced dynamic allows for even less accountability in this space. Both fans and reporters who depend on translations are so entirely at the mercy and whim of the choices of translators. It's no wonder that rumors can spread so easily from one translator's decision.

People are talking about the positive reactions being such progress for kpop stans, but that is not the point. The information was still proven false, yet all those interactions helped boost false info to new people who otherwise wouldn't be invested. And the process repeats.

Remember that social media algorithms are generally agnostic as to what kind of interaction posts receive. Whether it's good or bad, it will still count as a unique engagement and therefore something worth promoting (or trending, in this case).

There are freelancers who make their entire business by writing articles that are strategically worded to get you to hate-click or surprise-click. They don't care whether it's true or not. They thrive by tricking you, and by you foolishly tricking others by spreading their work.

This is the operating model for the few kpop news sources that exist. These websites are nothing more than glorified gossip columns that profit heavily on the vulnerability of international fans. They make their money when fans react impulsively instead of thinking critically.

These aren't things that only apply to kpop stan Twitter. It is so important to be this critical about every bit of information you see online.

Let's remember that there are ways we can be discerning about the information we read that don't require knowing Korean.

One huge way is to be aware that THIS is the game social media engagement plays, and to strategize around it.

Take screenshots.

Talk about things in DMs.

Don't engage directly with the source of false info.

Use the report functions available.

Misinformation is such a scourge on this platform in every aspect, and it's extremely disappointing when the origin is from a service provider fans have no choice but to trust. But working privately and together, I'm positive we can slow the progress of rumors and false info.

Side note: I know that I have an advantage as a Korean. I may not have native fluency (unfortunate for me), but I can recognize nuance, incorrect grammar, and weird/unprofessional tone in writing. Many are not in a place to criticize how translators do their thing, but I am.

I could not say with 100% confidence that my translations would be primary-source-level dependable, which is why I do not take up that title myself on here. But message me privately, and I promise I'll try to help with info. I don't want to see things like yesterday happen again.