Police investigate Middle East-related fake news

▲ Park Jeong-bo, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency (Yonhap)

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Police investigate Middle East-related fake news

SEOUL, April 6 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said Monday it has established an organization dedicated to investigating the spread of online fake news related to the Middle East.

Park Jeong-bo, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, said that two dedicated teams for Middle East-related fake news have been formed within his agency's Cyber Investigation Unit.

"When false information is uploaded, requests for deletion and blocking are made to the relevant site and the Korea Communications Standards Commission. As many as 29 such cases have occurred in Seoul only," Park said in a media briefing.

In one instance, a conservative YouTuber claimed on March 27 that it is suspected that a massive 900,000 barrels of oil may have been sent from the southeastern city of Ulsan to North Korea.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources has filed a complaint against the YouTuber regarding his claim on charges of defamation by stating false facts under the information and communications network law and the police plan to summon him soon.

"We're investigating four YouTube accounts that were reported by the trade ministry and the Korea National Oil Corp.," Park said. "We'll respond sternly to the spread of fake news that causes social unrest."

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