After 21 days away from the public eye, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s reemergence on May 1 broke the worldwide flood of fake information concerning his whereabouts.

The spotlight on Kim’s health was triggered by a CNN story on April 20 reporting the U.S. was monitoring intelligence suggesting the North Korean leader was in “grave danger” after supposedly undergoing surgery.

CNN likely based its piece on a story published by South Korea-based website Daily NK the same day, but it was following the American outlet’s story that the world was swept away by waves of wild speculation and