North Korea disseminating regime propaganda via SNS accounts

VOA reported on November 23 that it has identified 24 SNS (Social Network Service) accounts officially operated by North Korea. According to the VOA analysis, North Korean propaganda outlets including DPRK Today are openly posting regime propaganda on popular platforms including Twitter, YouTube, Google Plus, Tumblr, Flickr, Pinterest, Yuku and Instagram.
As the number of SNS users has dramatically increased since the late 2000s, the regime has also sought to keep up with the times. Most of the North Korean SNS accounts appear to have been created from 2014 to the present.
VOA reported that North Korea has also linked a number of propaganda websites including ‘Uriminzokkiri,’ ‘Meari (Echo),’ ‘Tongilvoice (Voice of Unification),’ and ‘Our Nation School,’ also known as ‘Kim Il Sung Open University’ to SNS accounts.
In particular, Tongilvoice and Our Nation School, which run material similar to Internet radio broadcasting, have attracted attention as they are using the podcast feature hosted by Apple (based in the US). VOA played an excerpt from a recording of a lecture broadcast by Our Nation School which said, “Hello. Today, we will learn a story about the great Suryong (supreme leader) Kim Il Sung, who pushed forward a project to create the core force within the regular army.”
The propaganda accounts are said to be active with the number of posts varying from three to ten articles per day. The posts usually consist of regime propaganda or daily news about North Korean society, and include photos and videos in addition to short text messages.
Regarding North Korea’s intentions, VOA quoted the opinion of computer expert Martin Williams who suggested that the regime seems to be investing in SNS operations to evade the censorship barriers put in place by South Korea. The South Korean government has designated North Korean government websites as harmful and blocked access to them, but is unable to restrict access to North Korean SNS accounts.
However, despite the regime’s significant investments in SNS propaganda, the response by netizens around the world has been overwhelmingly cold.
Although anyone with internet access can view the Twitter account for ”Uriminzokkiri (Among Our People),’ not a single quotation or repost by other readers can be seen. In addition, most of the videos posted on DPRK Today’s Youtube account have received about 50 views. The failure of North Korea’s SNS efforts to attract interest appears due to the fact that the messages and photos used for regime propaganda are out of touch with contemporary SNS culture.
Meanwhile, KCTV’s Youtube channel was recently shut down for ‘violating YouTube’s community regulations.’ VOA notes that the channel is currently inaccessible, and the approximately 900 video clips posted on the channel appear to have been deleted. KCTV’s Youtube channel had been posting one to five video clips per day, featuring North Korean news, movies, and documentary films since its launch in September, 2013. It was regarded as the most popular among the North Korean Youtube propaganda channels, and had a significant number of visits. The channel was officially described as being operated by ‘Korean Central Broadcasting Committee,’ but some have argued that it may have not actually been operated by North Korea.