Naver is setting up a special page for local elections and moving to block false and malicious comments at the source.

Naver opened a “9th Nationwide Local Elections Special Page” featuring a range of election information from May 7, it said on May 8. It also announced tougher comment policies for news in the politics and election sections and the rollout of a reporting function for false election-related comments.

The special page consists of four categories: “Media PiCK” selected by each news outlet, election news by region, opinion polls by news outlet and region, and key election schedules, general knowledge and past voter turnout rates. On election day on June 3, it will run a live corner that gathers special news coverage broadcasts. It also plans to provide results from the three broadcasters’ joint exit poll and forecast survey.

It also strengthened its comment and communication policies. Naver has not provided comments below the body text of articles in the politics and election sections since March 19, and its all-comments collection is provided only in reverse chronological order. It will apply the upgraded “AI Cleanbot 3.0,” rolled out on April 29, to understand the context of headlines and article text and focus on detecting hateful and disparaging malicious comments. If Cleanbot detects malicious comments above a certain threshold, or if likes and dislikes increase sharply, it automatically disables the comment window.

It will apply a function that allows users to directly report false election-related news comments, and it will also operate a separate reporting center linked to a National Election Commission channel. It will also set up 24-hour monitoring and a hotline to respond to issues. If it receives a request to delete comments related to a candidate, it will handle it in line with Korea Internet Self-Governance Organization (KISO) policy and plans to cooperate with the election commission.

From May 21, after candidate registration closes on May 15, it will provide candidate information supplied by the election commission. It will also fully restrict autocomplete and suggested search functions for the names of candidates running in elections for metropolitan mayors and governors, basic local government heads, superintendents of education and by-elections for local members of the National Assembly.

Kim Soo-hyang (김수향), a Naver leader, said the company is continuing proactive policy changes and technological advancements so that it can deliver accurate and fast information for the local elections and ensure election-related news comment areas can serve as a venue for healthy communication. She said Naver will continue to work with the election commission, KISO and others to prevent the spread of false information.