Fake news on HK porn star raises hackles

Congratulatory messages were seen floating on a local forum yesterday. "Congratulations to the first Hong Kong-born porn star Erena's debut in Japan."

Forums were filled with similar messages by male web-users, but Culture, Sports and Tourism Secretary Kevin Yeung Yun-hung said he was not one of them, and his team was quick to dismiss a fake press release applauding Erena's debut.

A spokesman from Yeung's office said that the bureau received reports of a fraudulent congratulatory press release purportedly issued in the name of Yeung.

The spokesman clarified: "The fake press release was not issued via the Government News and Media Information System," and the case has been reported to the police.

It was on the LIHKG forum that a web user posted a photo-edited press release.

But the web-user soon realized the joke had gone too far after the government released a statement and claimed that he found the fake message on WhatsApp and posted it without fact-checking.

Erena, or So Hoi-lam, will have her debut porn available online from March 31, where Faleno Star - the porn producer - had also produced porn for famous Japanese porn stars Sora Shiina and Arina Hashimoto. So had made various appearances on screen before her debut, including Talker: What Love You Say on Viu TV last December. She also runs a YouTube channel Thisisshl.