Cho Jang-mi, a popular YouTuber and online streamer, committed herself on Saturday, according to her uncle, who said that she was motivated by hostile internet remarks and rumors.

As a result of the disclosure, a national uproar has erupted over cyberbullying and the relatively new practice of "cyberwreckers," which refers to YouTubers who create commentary films on controversial matters using collated footage and photographs.

PPKKa, a YouTuber who goes by the moniker Jammi, was one of the cyberterrorists who was engaged in the event. He published a number of videos in which he claimed Cho, who went by the pseudonym Jammi, employed gestures and language that were distinctive to radical feminist online forums.

The rumors that Cho is a man-hater, which were stoked by rumormongers, sparked a torrent of negative remarks directed towards Cho.

Disputes and assaults against the government

Cho's fortunes began to deteriorate in mid-2019, when she began to utilize in her videos provocative terms and gestures linked with an extreme right-wing online forum and radical feminists, prompting widespread condemnation.

She was taken aback by the onslaught of abuse she received in the comment area, and she said that she was only imitating online memes and was completely ignorant of the disparaging nature of the words and gesture in question. This only made a little dent in the barrage of assaults, which persisted in the form of verbal abuse and even the disclosure of her private social media accounts and true identity.

Cho stated once more in February 2020 that she was not a member of any of the problematic communities and that she was not a feminist. In May, she declared that she was ending her career as an internet streamer, refuting the claims once more and claiming that her mother had committed suicide the year before, presumably as a result of the hateful remarks.

In the midst of all of this, cyberwreckers invaded the scene.

PPKKa, posing as a crusader against the "hypocrisy of left wingers and feminists," published his first video on July 10, 2019, in which he questioned the legitimacy of Cho's answer, and then another video on July 12, 2019. Following that, he uploaded two additional videos.

The four films accusing Cho of being a radical feminist — which have since been removed from the internet — had over 3 million views in total. As of Wednesday, he had 1.2 million subscribers on YouTube, according to the site.

Once a victim had been identified, cyberbullies congregated in the comment sections to verbally harass Cho and his family. After Cho's unfortunate death, their animosity had no intention of dying down.

Bullies on the internet

Cyberwreckers create hate content because it is profitable for them. What draws viewers to such recordings, and perhaps encourages them to harm victims, is unclear.

According to Lim Myung-ho, professor of psychology and psychotherapy at Dankuk University, the cyberattacks on Cho were likely motivated by a desire to feel superior.

He added that by making comments, one is more likely to feel like a member of a group, and that one is more prone to feel superior as a group by criticizing someone else.

"The victim is a young and attractive woman who has a large following. When someone who represents a group is attacked and her authority is damaged, it can lead to a sense of superiority among others who witness the attack, according to the author. In addition, Lim believes the fact that Cho appeared more vulnerable following the attacks, including being clearly pained in her recordings and stating that she pondered suicide, may have heightened the agitation of the assailants and their sense of superiority even more.

Several incidents of celebrities committing suicide as a result of being mistreated by online bullies have been reported throughout the years. Kim In-hyeok, a volleyball player from South Korea, was discovered dead at his house last week, apparently by suicide. He had made an appeal on his Instagram page, appealing with people to stop making negative remarks about him and disputing rumors about his homosexuality.

According to a recent study, cyberbullying, which is defined as the repeated sending of angry violent communications with the goal to cause harm, is more widespread among adults than it is among teens.

As reported in "A Study on the Factors that Influence Adult Cyberbullying," conducted by the government-affiliated National Information Society Agency in 2019, 54.7 percent of adults in Korea have been victims or perpetrators of cyberbullying, a figure that is significantly higher than the rate of 26.9 percent among teenagers. Despite this, the vast majority of studies in Korea on cyberbullying are conducted on children and adolescents. There are 30 study papers that are geared at students, and just two that are geared toward adults.

The research also stated that variables such as the presence of another person who is participating in cyberbullying, the experience of being bullied oneself, and tolerance toward becoming perpetrators of cyberbullying are all factors that contribute to adult cyberbullying. The opposite is true in terms of gender, age, family relationships, and how frequently one gets onto the internet, which are all criteria that are more significant for teenage bulling than for adult bullying.

In summary, practically anyone may act as a cyberbully, especially if there is a huge number of others doing the same thing at the same time. It appears that the cyberwreckers comment sections served as a great meeting place for cyberbullies in Cho's situation.

PPKKa posted a video on YouTube just hours after the news of Cho's murder broke, claiming that he did not "incite" any hatred toward her and that he was not the one who started the myth that she was a radical feminist. Despite this, Cho has received a great deal of negative feedback, as have the online groups that have slammed him for what were essentially a handful of dubious statements.