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🇹🇼 Taiwan /Elections & Politics

Taiwanese candidate's AI-generated image of K-pop star sparks rights row

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • A South Korean celebrity's image was used by a political candidate in Taiwan, sparking controversy over portrait rights.
  • The candidate reportedly commented on a post featuring the celebrity's image without knowing who he was or that the image was altered.
  • The celebrity's agency has been notified and is investigating the potential infringement.

A South Korean celebrity's image has become entangled in a Taiwanese political campaign, leading to accusations of portrait rights infringement. The controversy surrounds a candidate for Taipei City Councilor, Wang Zhenting, who allegedly used an AI-synthesized image of Super Junior member Choi Siwon, merging his face with a party emblem.

According to online discussions, the candidate commented on the post without realizing the identity of the celebrity or that the image was manipulated. This lack of awareness has drawn criticism, particularly from those who believe the candidate should have exercised greater caution online, especially given his reliance on social media for campaigning.

Wang Zhenting, a candidate for Taipei City Councilor, commented on the post when he didn't know who Siwon was, and didn't know it was a synthesized photo, so he didn't know that photo involved serious portrait rights infringement.

— NetizenExplaining the candidate's alleged lack of awareness regarding the use of Choi Siwon's image.

The situation has escalated as netizens have gathered evidence and sent it to SM Entertainment, Choi Siwon's agency, for investigation. This incident highlights the potential pitfalls of using celebrity imagery in political advertising and the importance of verifying image authenticity and rights before online engagement.

I have directly collected evidence and sent it to Super Junior's agency SM for reporting.

— NetizenStating that evidence of the alleged infringement has been sent to the celebrity's agency.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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