In Rumor We Trust: Proliferating Fake News in South Korea

South Koreans are used to hearing sentences that end in hadeora, a verb meaning “it is said that….” This particular way of phrasing is something of a cop-out, though. It conveys information without taking ownership of the fact. And given that Korean verbs do not require a subject, it is not clear most of the time whom the information is from. Examples: “Actor X sexually assaulted a woman…hadeora.” “The neighbor’s kid is winning all kinds of prizes without going to hagwon or getting private l