Andray Abrahamian on 38 North gives a lesson on understanding reports about North Korea:
But in trying to distinguish truth from fiction about rumored happenings in North Korea, it is worth taking a moment to consider how news about the North is produced in South Korea and picked up by global news organizations. There are three relevant issues: South Korea is in a state of war and competition with North Korea; journalists in South Korea are very comfortable basing stories off of single, anonymous sources; and foreign media organizations are desperate for page views and thus happy to repeat dramatic rumors about the DPRK [North Korea]. In this context, one should be suspicious of rumors from this information supply chain, which encourages sensationalism at every step and offers little reward for ensuring credibility.
I wonder if the pressure in the last case would be eased if there was a substantial switch in funding from the current advertising-based model to a subscription model. His conclusion?
Consequently, as we think about rumors about North Korea, we need to take all these caveats into account and temper our conclusions appropriately. For those trying to parse which rumors are true and which aren’t, it might be best to think of them as analogous to Schrödinger’s cat. They’re probably true. But also probably not.
