Mocked-up People magazine cover with South Korea presidential contender misleads online

Published on May 5, 2025 at 04:36
2 min read
By SHIM Kyu-Seok, AFP South Korea

A custom-generated image of South Korean politician Han Dong-hoon on the cover of People magazine was shared in social media posts that falsely claimed the publication named Han the "world's sexiest politician." The manipulated image circulated ahead of a crucial presidential election to replace the country's impeached former leader.

"Chairman Han Dong-hoon selected as sexiest politician in the world," reads the Korean-language caption of an image shared on Facebook on April 23, 2025.

"Even this influential American magazine couldn't deny his charm."

The image appears to show Han on the cover of People magazine with text that reads: "Han Dong-hoon, Sexiest Man Alive!" The magazine was supposedly published on April 12, 2025.

Han, who served as justice minister under ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol, is one of the two finalists in the People Power Party's presidential primary for the upcoming June 3 election (archived link).

His supporters have previously shared doctored images of international publications such as Der Spiegel and the New York Times supposedly featuring the former minister.

Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on May 5, 2025

The fabricated magazine cover was also shared on several of Han's fan pages on Facebook, with some users appearing to believe it was genuine.

"The most handsome figure in Korean politics, as certified by the American press," one user commented.

Another wrote: "Is being sexy all that matters? It certainly won't feed us."

Custom-generated

A keyword search on Google found the doctored cover's background matched a template offered by a store on online marketplace Etsy (archived here and here).

For a fee, the seller will turn a user-submitted photo into a custom People magazine cover with "sexiest man alive" text.

Screenshot comparison of the doctored image (left), the template on Etsy (centre), and an example shown by the Etsy seller (right)

A separate Google reverse image search found the photo of Han used to create the mocked-up cover was published by Newsis on February 23, 2023 (archived link).

People magazine publishes an annual feature for the "Sexiest Man Alive", typically in either November or December.

The publication's website includes a list of all feature covers since 1985, with the latest edition in 2024 featuring the actor John Krasinski (archived link). Han does not appear in the list.

Moreover, the doctored cover is dated April 12, 2025 but People magazine did not print an issue with that date (archived link). The closest issue was published on April 14 and features US singer Kelsea Ballerini on the cover.

Is there content that you would like AFP to fact-check? Get in touch.

E-mail