Korean netizens are well known for their influence over the music industry and for being at the forefront of breaking news. But sometimes a rumor gets started and then is blown completely out of proportion and it leads to an onslaught of false claims, even in the actual media.

This is exactly what happened May 5 with JJ Project's Im Jaebum (JB).

It all began when a fan posted in the DC Gallery that they had seen Im Jaebum at a TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) testing center. Seemed like a harmless comment until journalists caught wind of it.

Almost immediately, and without fact-checking we might add, a series of articles were posted by various news sources saying that JB was seen taking the English test.

Next, more fans began posting word that they too had seen the JYP Entertainment singer taking the test. On comment on Nate even went as far as to claim, "Im Jaebum sat right behind me when we were taking the TOEIC."

The rumor continued to spiral as journalists released more articles with "quotes" from Im Jaebum about the TOEIC experience. Articles credited him as saying, "I've been studying consistently all this while," and "I've been stuying English ahead of my American filming."

The only problem is, Im Jaebum never gave any interviews and he actually never took the TOEIC test in the first place.

It was only a matter of time before JB had to release his own statement to clarify the matter. Later in the day he said, "I heard that I apparently took the TOEIC. Unfound rumors! I was home resting, eating, and taking a break. That is all."

Fortunately for the JJ Project singer this rumor was positive and no actual harm was done, it merely created a laughable situation. But other idols have not been so lucky as netizens can sometimes be very brutal and create vicious lies that are much harder to correct than taking an English test or not.

A few days ago Krystal of the girl group f(x) was actually forced to remove her Instagram account after a rumor started by netizens put her in a romantic relationship with Big Bang frontman G-Dragon. GD's fans were not so kind, and the brutal harassment caused the singer to retreat from social media.