According to reports, Kim has banned North Koreans from eating hotdogs as part of a crackdown on Western culture slowly oozing its way into the hermit nation.

"Reports". Well, not super convincing so far...

According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), North Korea has also banned steamed rice cakes tteokbokki which is a popular street food in South Korea.

Oh hey, there we go, Radio Free Asia! What a great unbiased source/CIA front propaganda operation. Aren't they the same people who said something like everyone in NK has to have their leader's haircut? Or was forbidden to have his haircut? I think they said leather jackets were banned there once? Or that someone was executed for smuggling in Squid Game?

Food isn’t the only thing the hermit nation is cracking down on. Reports emerged in December that claim people who get divorced in North Korea are facing one to six months in labour camps for their “crimes”.

More "Reports".

According to RFA, a divorced woman claimed she served three months of labour and said that women receive harsher sentences than the men.

So ya, it's basically just RFA.

Beautiful.

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[–] SevenSkalls@hexbear.net 32 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (3 children)

If anyone else has explanations on why Radio Free Asia sucks, I'd appreciate the extra counterpropaganda ammunition. But suffice it to say that even a couple comments in reddit when they actually read the article and saw the sources, didn't believe it, although they had to couch it in extremely liberal terms to prove their "not a tankie". Still, that proves how biased that source is even to diehard liberals.

Of course, they were vastly outnumbered by the people who believed this at face value, but that's Stormfront for you.

[–] SpiderFarmer@hexbear.net 18 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

What's amazing is that many subreddits with block any posts from RFA. Of course, r/,worldnews isn't one of those.

[–] SevenSkalls@hexbear.net 8 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

It's incredible that this shit can not only make it to the front page, but also to the top of their biggest international news sub. What a joke that sub has become.

[–] ikilledtheradiostar@hexbear.net 4 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

has explanations on why Radio Free Asia sucks

Prima facie. North Koreans do not speak a secret untranslatable language. If hot dogs were banned there would be documentation of it. This documentation would need to be mass disseminated so north Koreans know not to eat hot dogs. Surely a person telling a reporter that hot dogs were banned could also give them this document. CIA funding does not need to be shown to understand why RFA is garbage.

[–] SevenSkalls@hexbear.net 4 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

You'd think so, but mods in lemmy.world were apparently saying RFA is a legitimate source and are either independent, or they are part of the US government but it doesn't matter because they still have a good history of journalism and check their facts. Then banning everyone who disagreed.

I think they even used MFBC, which is hilarious once I read it. No failed fact checks for 5 years? How is that possible? And they report them as factual and left-leaning by taking two to three random stories? I thought everyone new RFA was biased as hell, but I shouldn't under estimate US propaganda I guess.

[–] ikilledtheradiostar@hexbear.net 4 points 4 weeks ago

Then I suppose just saying "wow RFA has quoted 'some guy' what excellent journalism". Would be enough to point out how crap they are. Idk, trying to prove a source is untrustworthy is a fools errand since with some media literacy you can just see it. Once you have the eye the curtains are pulled back quickly. I would rather turbolibs get media literacy than them just dismissing RFA as the dumpster-fire it is.

[–] HexReplyBot@hexbear.net 3 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

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[–] Rom@hexbear.net 26 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (2 children)

Yea I was gonna say this is definitely some more made up BS from Radio Free Asia. Insane that you don’t have to make up stories about North Korea to make them look bad and ridiculous the real stuff is crazy enough.

They almost get there but instead they turn their brains off the moment they start to realize the contradictions.

[–] SkingradGuard@hexbear.net 16 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Thought terminating contradictions

[–] CloutAtlas@hexbear.net 11 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Oh yeah, you see these people go on about how North Koreans are so famished their markets have painted shelves and the population eat rats as their main source of protein but also have a vibrant hot dog market market and that it's undermining the Juche government.

[–] SevenSkalls@hexbear.net 4 points 4 weeks ago

So close!

[–] FuckyWucky@hexbear.net 22 points 4 weeks ago

If you make hotdogs at home, the secret police can smell it and send you to labour camps.

[–] HakFoo 16 points 4 weeks ago

I feel like you can make up any arbitrary list of words, add "The DPRK..." in front, and people will buy it.

Try it with Richard Simmons Deal-a-Meal cards, erotic activity dice, or your favourite LLM slop stream today!

Hey, Musk! We can save you over 600 bucks a year on the Radio Free Asia budget and get the same quality reporting!

[–] dustcommie@hexbear.net 16 points 4 weeks ago

Meanwhile in DPRK minor news segment: "Imperialist pigs are so propagandized they believe it is treason to eat hotdogs in DPRK"

If there is even a kernel of truth, and not totally made up, it is probably twisting something like "It would be patriotic to ration in case things turn hot with SK and the dictator Yoon Suk Yeol and shouldn't be relying on/importing imperialist food" then have a laugh at SK obsession with cheese and corn dogs(I have heard they are popular, not sure if that is true)

[–] ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 11 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

Never forget: a brazillian dude trolled the entire world posting fake videos of NK broadcasting of 2014 world coup and the Metro publish an article saying "NK propaganda shows country winning" and EVERY major western media replicate that shit. The dude who made this stunt is quite know here for trolling people.

[–] SevenSkalls@hexbear.net 6 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

That's a pretty good troll actually lol.

[–] ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 6 points 4 weeks ago

Search for Cid Cidoso, he even received a letter from NK embassy in Brazil congratulating him for showing how dumb is the western media

[–] dkr567@hexbear.net 10 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Classic RFA and rest of NED/CIA shitting out literal fake news.

[–] JillOfAllTrades@hexbear.net 8 points 4 weeks ago (3 children)

Big Drama in the lemmy.world cross-post

https://lemmy.world/post/23986125

[–] Cowbee@hexbear.net 10 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Of course the mod there is going mask-off defending RFA and power-tripping over people questioning a ridiculous article.

[–] BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 5 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I don't have a .world account and I'm not going to bother making one, but if you're feeling generous I would love to see the mod's response to someone asking them where the MBFC ratings come from.

[–] Cowbee@hexbear.net 7 points 4 weeks ago (2 children)

I made a pretty big and non-confrontational comment going over a bit of just how absurd the reporting on the DPRK is over there, fully expect a ban for it but whatever. I feel like they'd definitely ban me over asking about MBFC, but my comment as is is pretty rock-solid and thus difficult to ban over without clear overreach.

[–] BodyBySisyphus@hexbear.net 4 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

You have the patience of a saint over there.

[–] Cowbee@hexbear.net 5 points 4 weeks ago

I try not to let clearly uninformed people's opinions sway my emotional state, I frequently take breaks, and occasionally people reach out and thank me for teaching them something new, which completely makes it all worth it.

[–] SevenSkalls@hexbear.net 4 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

I didn't see it. Might have been banned already?

[–] Cowbee@hexbear.net 4 points 4 weeks ago

It's pretty recent and not a top level comment there, it's a reply to a mod comment. According to the modlog I'm fine for now.

[–] SevenSkalls@hexbear.net 4 points 4 weeks ago

I knew Lemmy's own reddit instance would have a cross post eventually.

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