Mnet announced on April 21 the launch of its new dance survival program “Street World Fighter: Directors’ War,” also known as “SWF: Directors’ War.” Courtesy of Mnet
Korean music channel Mnet has once again come under fire for alleged manipulative editing, this time over “Street World Fighter: Directors’ War.” The latest controversy could further erode viewers’ trust in the channel, which already stands on shaky grounds after past allegations of voting rigging involving its K-pop audition programs. The repeated nature of the controversy makes it harder to dismiss such cases as isolated incidents.
The controversy centers on “Street World Fighter: Directors’ War,” a dance competition program Mnet announced late last month. The channel described the series as a large-scale project built on the legacy of the globally popular “Street Woman Fighter” franchise, focusing on performance directors who choreograph, design and stage performances for top-tier dancers around the world.
The controversy emerged after Mnet released a teaser for the show, which is scheduled to air in August. Kiira Harper, who appeared in the teaser and was shown listing various performances she had apparently worked on, later wrote on social media that she had not made such claims.
“I am not on this show and I did not say this,” she wrote.
“They asked me who I’ve danced for, and I said that I danced at the Super Bowl with Dr. Dre and Snoop,” she added, expressing regret over how the show had been edited.
In response, Mnet told the Hankook Ilbo that the teaser was created to explain the role of performance directors and the purpose of the show.
“The video was taken down after we recognized that certain excerpts from the interview could be interpreted in a misleading way,” an official said. Denying any intent to manipulate the footage, the official said the production team would take extra precautions in future production.
For survival and competition programs, an editing “mistake” like this carries particular weight. In a genre where fairness and accuracy are essential, this kind of editing goes beyond a simple production error and raises questions about possible factual manipulation. This is especially true for Mnet, which left a lasting stain on Korean broadcasting history after becoming embroiled in a large-scale vote-rigging scandal.
Its “Produce 101” series remains a prime example of fraud and manipulation in Korean television. Across multiple seasons, it was revealed that producers had manipulated viewer voting results, causing major public outrage. The controversy grew into a full criminal case, ending in court with criminal convictions for several members of the production staff.
Source: Korea Times News
