Posts misrepresent old protest photo, AI-generated image as showing BTS concert crowd
- Published on March 24, 2026 at 09:27
- 2 min read
- By Hawon Jung, AFP South Korea
Central Seoul was packed with BTS fans as the K-pop superstars made their long-awaited comeback in March 2026, but images of huge crowds circulating on social media do not show the seven-member group's fans at their Gwanghwamun Square concert. One of the images in fact shows a mass protest held in 2016 calling for then-president Park Geun-hye to step down, while the other was generated with the help of AI.
"BTS, you're really great! You have tremendous talent," says the Korean-language caption of a photo shared on Threads on March 21, 2026.
The photo shows a mass of people illuminated by search lights and big screens that are packed into Gwanghwamun Square.
A similar image appearing to show crowds attending a concert in the square was also shared on Threads on the same day.
Its caption says it shows "citizens who came to watch BTS" and was taken by a photojournalist.
The images were also shared alongside similar claims in social media posts and articles.
The images circulated after tens of thousands of fans turned out to see K-pop superstars BTS perform together for the first time following a years-long hiatus prompted by mandatory service, with some stationed near the heavily fortified border with North Korea (archived link).
The March 21 comeback concert was held against the backdrop of the historic Gyeongbokgung Palace -- fitting for the "Kings of K-pop" -- with thousands of fans from South Korea and abroad singing along as they performed songs from their latest album, "ARIRANG".
Their label HYBE said more than 100,000 fans had turned out, waving glowsticks and singing along to the group's hits in central Seoul, while police estimates of the crowd size were far lower at about 42,000, according to the Yonhap news agency.
The images posted on social media, however, do not show BTS fans in Gwanghwamun Square.
Park Geun-hye protest
A reverse image search on Google found the first falsely shared photo was used in an article by the Korean Kyunghyang Shinmun newspaper on December 4, 2016 (archived link).
The article is about a mass demonstration held the previous evening, the latest in weekly candlelight vigils calling for the impeachment of then-president Park Geun-hye (archived link).
Park was later impeached and imprisoned for corruption and abuse of power (archived link).
AFP also distributed similar photos of the December 3 rally.
AI-generated image
A closer look at the second falsely shared image shows there is a partial watermark for Veo, Google's generative AI tool, in its bottom-right corner.
The image bears little resemblance to photos distributed by AFP of the stage where BTS performed and seating arrangements for those watching.
According to an analysis of the image using the Hive Moderation AI detection tool, there is a 96.2 percent chance it was generated with the help of AI.
The image appears to be a cropped screenshot taken from video that circulated before the concert, which contains visual errors -- such as the arrangement of buildings, roads and greenery in and around Gwanghwamun Square -- that are indicative of the content being AI-generated.
AFP has previously debunked other false claims about the K-pop superstars.
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