Image of South Korean first lady 'on Vogue cover' is digitally generated
- Published on June 26, 2024 at 09:09
- 3 min read
- By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea
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"[Kim Keon Hee] is a first lady so sophisticated she was featured in a global fashion magazine, yet these leftists are so keen on destroying her," read the Korean-language caption to the image shared on Facebook on May 8, 2024.
"Leftists" appears to be a reference to supporters of former president Moon Jae-in.
The image showed a woman reading an edition of what appeared to be Vogue magazine with Kim on the cover wearing a headscarf.
Identical images of Kim supposedly on the cover of the popular fashion magazine were also shared here and here on Facebook, as well as here on a South Korean online news website.
However, the image was in fact created using an image generator website.
A close-up of the image showed text on the bottom left of the purported magazine cover that read: "PhotoFunia, become a star!"
PhotoFunia is a website that allows users to upload custom images to generate Vogue magazine covers identical to the image seen in the false posts (archived link).
Below are screenshot comparisons between the generated image (left) and custom images created by AFP using black (centre) and red (right) palettes using PhotoFunia:
A separate Google reverse search found the picture of Kim in the false post was published by Yonhap news agency on January 15, 2023 (archived link).
"Kim Keon Hee, on a state visit to the United Arab Emirates with President Yoon Suk Yeol, visits the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi wearing a shayla head covering, per Islamic tradition," the photo's caption read.
Below is a screenshot comparison between the image in the false posts (left) and the original picture published by Yonhap (right):
Other photos of Kim wearing the veil during the UAE trip were featured on the official presidential website (archived link).
Kim was featured in a report by Vogue Arabia about a mustard skirt suit she wore to meet Dubai's Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during her visit to the UAE (archived link).
But a search through an archive of successive Vogue Korea covers listed on the website of the Seoul Metropolitan Library found none featured Kim on the cover as of June 25 (archived link).
Kim has been a frequent target of disinformation on social media, which AFP has previously debunked here, here and here.
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