Update at 17:30 EST: This article has been updated to clarify that the original Korean-language Daily NK article only cited one source, while the subsequent Reuters and English-language Daily NK articles cited multiple sources when they were published. Daily NK has since issued a correction on its English version and changed it to match the Korean version.

Amid prolonged silence from North Korean state media on the whereabouts of leader Kim Jong Un, social media platforms have filled the information vacuum by spreading and amplifying rumors, an NK News analysis has found.