Manipulated report falsely claims S.Korea and US presidents did not speak

"How embarrassing," reads the Korean-language caption of an image shared on Facebook on June 7, 2025.

The image appears to be a screenshot of a report from South Korean wire service News1 headlined, "[Breaking] White House spokesperson denies Trump spoke to South Korean President Lee Jae-myung". The report carries the byline of correspondent Ryu Jeong-min.

The post circulated shortly after South Korea's presidential office announced that Lee had held his first phone call with Trump on the evening of June 6 -- his first diplomatic engagement with the US president following his victory in a snap election (archived here and here).

The two leaders discussed efforts toward concluding a tariff deal, and Trump also invited Lee to Washington, according to the South Korean presidential office.

South Korean media noted the call -- three days after the election -- came later than it had for Lee's predecessors, and speculated about a change in the relationship between Seoul and Washington (archived link).

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on June 9, 2025

The screenshot of the purported News1 report was also widely shared among conservative users on Facebook, with some commenters accusing Lee of fabricating the call and damaging South Korea’s international standing.

"They're openly making up lies, how will Lee ever be able to talk to Trump now?" read a comment on one of the posts.

Another said: "South Korea has immediately become a pariah on the world stage."

While neither Trump nor the White House have issued a public statement about the call, the report circulating online has been altered.

'Obviously manipulated'

A keyword search using the name of the reporter in the doctored article found he wrote a breaking news report on June 6 titled "[Breaking] Trump held phone call with South Korean President Lee Jae-myung" (archived link). 

The article was filed from Washington and cites the Reuters news agency confirming via a White House official that the call did occur (archived link). 

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Screenshot comparison of the manipulated report shared on social media (left) and the original News1 report published June 6 (right)

Ryu told AFP over email on June 9 that the report about a supposed denial from the White House was "obviously manipulated" and that his actual report confirmed the call had taken place.

While no official statement had been published by the US administration as of June 9, a review of the White House website shows it does not regularly issue press releases about calls with foreign leaders.

For example, there was no White House statement about phone calls between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on June 6 or with Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on May 22 (archived here and here). 

As of June 10, there have been no official reports contradicting South Korea’s announcement of the call between Lee and Trump.

AFP previously debunked a digitally altered photo shared online claiming to show Trump's response to South Korea's presidential election.