One of the most popular broadcasting and entertainment channels in South Korea issued a public apology to K-pop girl group NewJeans, or NJZ. The apology was issued for sharing a video with a provocative and misleading thumbnail attached to it on their channel on a popular streaming platform. After major backlash from fans, the broadcaster took the decision to issue a public statement to address the mishap.
Broadcaster posts questionable content about NJZ
The issue with the video arose after the post today regarding all of the issues and controversies related to ADOR and NewJeans. Fans react to the video and criticise the broadcasters after analysing the text that read “Shaking NJZ, Haerin’s Escape? Escaping is based on intelligence vs. an unfounded rumour, a close relationship,” as shared by Pinkvilla.
This statement promoted baseless speculation based on assumptions about the group members, which the fans of the group called out and labelled as “clickbait journalists”.
The video shared misleading content, according to the fans, and shared implications surrounding a sudden group member’s departure, citing no resources for the claim; fans criticised the broadcasters.
Petition filed against the broadcasters
Fans called out the broadcasters for spreading misinformation and even filed a petition against them on their Viewers’ Rights Centre. The petition is titled ‘We demand an end to malicious reporting and an official apology.’
The petition highlighted that the company did not use verified sources and instead depended on baseless claims made by YouTubers. The petition shared that “despite the official statement that the suspicion of problems between the families was false, we are disappointed that KBS included provocative phrases to induce views and spread false information. When we asked for an apology and correction of the thumbnail, KBS changed the thumbnail without any apology.”
Broadcaster issues official apology
Initially after the backlash, the company only edited the thumbnail and did not address the situation at large. However, once the criticism prevailed, they issued a statement explaining the video and apologising for their actions.
The company officially shared a statement that said, “The thumbnail text was criticised as inappropriate, and we have accepted it and made the video private. We apologise to the viewers who felt uncomfortable by this matter and will be more mindful in the future of not only the digital content but also the subtitles, titles, and other content overall.”