Comedian Park Na-rae opened up about being targeted by fake news, bonding over the experience with mega-popular mukbang YouTuber Tzuyang.
In the Nov. 20 episode of YouTube’s “Naraesik” (EP. 61), Tzuyang ― who boasts 16 million subscribers ― spoke candidly about sensationalist channels and fabricated rumors.
Park shared, “I even went to a National Assembly hearing over the ‘cyber-wrecker’ issue,” while Tzuyang admitted, “At first I thought, ‘We live on attention, maybe this is part of the job.’ But it crossed the line into outright lies that frame you for things you never did. So now I’m fighting back legally.”
Recalling her appearance at the hearing, Tzuyang said, “My heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest. The session before ours had devolved into a fight, so the room was tense, and I wasn’t even sure I was making sense.” She added, “When the clip went up, comments like ‘she’s acting innocent’ poured in. That really stung.”
One of the most absurd rumors, she noted, claimed she was “backed by Chinese forces.” “People said my 12 million subs were because of Chinese support or even that I was a Chinese national,” she said. “Some of it is too extreme to even repeat here.”
Park had her own jaw-dropping example: “There was even a rumor that Yang Se-chan and I were expecting. A doctored photo of me holding an ultrasound was circulating ― it looked so real I almost thought, ‘Wait, am I pregnant?’ It was that convincing,” she joked, drawing laughs.
Tzuyang added that incorrect details ― like a claim that she graduated from Sogang University’s Continuing Education program ― even had her parents calling to check. “There’s so much noise and misinformation that I try not to look anymore,” she said. “Malicious fake news is awful, but in a way those people watch my content more than anyone. Maybe they’re hurting, too ― thinking that way helps me protect myself.”
Park concluded, “Yes, we live on public attention ― but we didn’t grow because of people who write abusive posts. You should never have to tolerate lies that cross the line.”
(SBS Entertainment News | Kang Kyung-youn)