As deadly wildfires raged across South Korea’s southeast, social media posts shared a fabricated news report alongside unsubstantiated claims that one of the blazes was deliberately started by a Chinese exchange student. The purported screenshot was created by combining two authentic but unrelated articles from the Herald Business newspaper.
A screenshot of the supposed news report spread March 24, 2025 on Facebook as multiple wildfires burned in South Korea’s southeast (archived link).
The wildfires are the largest and deadliest on record, with the death toll from the blazes standing at 28 as of March 28 (archived link).
“‘Half-burnt Chinese books’ The suspect in the series of fires in the mountains is a Chinese exchange student”, reads the Korean-language headline above a photo of firemen silhouetted against a raging inferno.
Text below the image says: “Land equivalent to the size of ‘4,600 soccer pitches’ damaged by simultaneous wildfires… Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters says ‘3,286 hectares of forest are burned’.”
The Facebook post, shared by a lawyer who has previously spread baseless claims of voter fraud, calls for a “comprehensive investigation and communication censorship of Chinese exchange students”. It also alleges that “nationwide wildfire terror attacks are suspected to be a joint operation by China and North Korea”.
Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured March 28, 2025
The purported screenshot also circulated on the South Korean forum Ilbe and YouTube. It comes amid a surge of anti-Chinese disinformation in the country following impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol’s botched attempt to impose martial law in December 2024.
Yoon has defended his short-lived suspension of civilian rule by claiming external forces, North Korea and anti-state elements were working together to threaten national security and sovereignty (archived link).
He also specifically accused unidentified Chinese individuals of flying a drone to photograph Seoul’s spy agency building and a US aircraft carrier docked in Busan.
However, the supposed news report swirling online is fabricated.
As of March 28, there had been no official reports of wildfires deliberately set by a Chinese exchange student. The interior ministry said the blazes were accidentally started by a grave visitor and “sparks from a brush cutter” (archived link).
A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google found the fabricated news article was created by stitching together two separate, unrelated reports from South Korea’s Herald Business newspaper.
The headline comes from a February 21 article about the arrest of a Chinese exchange student on suspicion of igniting an open area on a university campus in Ulsan (archived link).
A Chinese-language book found at the scene helped local police identify the suspect, the newspaper reported.
The photo and subsequent text stem from a March 23 article about the damage caused by the ongoing wildfires (archived link).
Screenshots comparing the Herald Business reports from February 21 (L) and March 23 (R) and the fabricated article (C), with elements highlighted by AFP
“It is regrettable to see our articles circulating in this way,” said Moon Yang-gyu, head of the Herald Business’s platform response team, on March 27, adding that the newspaper is looking into potential legal action.
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