Social media supercharges South Korea’s ‘politics of hatred’

Lee (pic) was stabbed in the neck in January in a dramatic demonstration of the political atmosphere in the run-up to Wednesday’s legislative election. He survived but analysts fear the supercharged political atmosphere and the weight of ‘incitement to hatred’ online could lead others to step out from behind their keyboards. — AP

SEOUL: Online disinformation and hate speech are poisoning politics the world over, but in South Korea there have also been real-life acts of violence in a deeply polarised electorate before polls on April 10.

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck in January in a dramatic demonstration of the political atmosphere in the run-up to Wednesday’s legislative election.