Image of South Korean World Cup squad announcing boycott of press is AI-generated

South Korea's World Cup squad skipped interviews with domestic press after reporters made disparaging remarks about captain Son Heung-min, but an image circulating on social media purportedly showing the team announcing the boycott is AI-generated. There have also been no official photos or videos showing such an announcement, while the circulating image closely resembles footage of the Argentinian team announcing they would boycott their national press in November 2016.

The image purportedly showing the South Korean team announcing their media boycott was shared on X on June 16, 2026, in response to another post about the squad reacting to reporters allegedly mocking captain Son Heung-min.

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"We have decided not to have any further contact with the press," reads the Korean-language caption.

The image appears to show several South Korean players standing side-by-side, with their arms crossed, in front of a red backdrop with the letters "KFA" -- an abbreviation for the Korean Football Association. Son is standing at the centre, holding a microphone.

The same image was also shared in similar Instagram and X posts, including by a prominent Mexican sports commentator with 3.4 million followers.

Players on the South Korean squad skipped or cancelled planned interviews with local media after their opening World Cup match against the Czech Republic on June 11, which they won 2-1 (archived here and here).

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The media blackout came after a video of the team's training session on June 8 -- shared on YouTube by a local TV station -- captured audio of journalists appearing to mock Son's military service (archived link).

South Korea technically remains at war with the nuclear-armed North after the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a ceasefire rather than a peace treaty, and almost all able-bodied men in the South are obliged to serve in the military for at least 18 months.

Son -- who also plays for Los Angeles FC -- was part of the South Korean team who earned an exemption by winning gold at the 2018 Asian Games (archived link). He was instead able to fulfil his obligations with three weeks' basic training and around 500 hours of community service.

The KFA issued a statement urging the media and journalists "to show greater consideration and a responsible attitude" towards the team -- who have since resumed contact with the media.

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There have been no official reports, photos or videos showing the South Korean team announcing their media blackout, while the circulating image has numerous anomalies that indicate it was AI-generated.

Visual errors

The circulating image contains multiple visual errors.

Midfielder Hwang Hee-chan appears twice with different coloured hair, Son's right arm is tattooed even though photos taken at the World Cup show he has no such tattoo on his arm, and the KFA logo in the background is outdated (archived link).

AFP analysed the image using Google's SynthID detection tool, which indicated with a "Very High" degree of confidence it was created using the company's AI tools (archived link).

AFP reached out to the KFA for comment, but did not receive a response by time of publication.

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Argentina boycott

A keyword search on Google found the AI-generated image of Son and his teammates closely resembles how Argentinian captain Lionel Messi and his teammates addressed the media to announce their own media blackout on November 15, 2016 (archived here and here).

Messi said they would no longer speak to the media following a claim by one journalist of drug use by one of his team-mates.

The tattoo on Son's arm in the AI-generated image is identical to Messi's tattoo.

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