Fake Lianhe Zaobao report claims ex-Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang joins Hong Kong university

SINGAPORE – Local Chinese-language newspaper Lianhe Zaobao on Nov 14 disputed a fake news report that former Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has joined a university in Hong Kong.

A photo of the article, which claimed to be an exclusive report and was designed to resemble Lianhe Zaobao articles using the publication’s logo and layout, has been making the rounds on social media platforms including X and Threads.

“Even we ourselves have not seen this ‘exclusive’ report, and there were no announcements of Huang’s appointment from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST),” the daily reported on Nov 14.

The fake report claimed that Huang has joined HKUST as a professor and strategic consultant, and was participating in the university’s research in AI and computing fields.

It also claimed that Huang will be taking in PhD students from two of the university’s campuses.

According to the fake report, Huang said in a statement that he believed HKUST has potential to become “MIT of the East”, referring to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the world’s leading institutions on science and technology.

Lianhe Zaobao pointed out that the article shows a byline belonging to a reporter who has already left the publication, as well as the wrong newspaper price.

However, while the report is fake, Lianhe Zaobao noted that the photo used in the report is real, and was taken from Huang’s visit to HKUST in November 2024, when he was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering.

“By using a real person, a real photo and a real organisation, along with Lianhe Zaobao’s layout that local readers are familiar with, a seemingly trustworthy fake news was created,” the daily said.

It pointed out that there has been a mix of accurate reports and fake news related to Huang in the last few days, and highlighted the need to keep a lookout amid the influx of information.

Formerly the CEO of the world’s most prominent chipmaker Nvidia, Huang resigned from his position on Nov 12 following back-to-back reports of extramarital affairs, one of which was with a woman suspected of being a Chinese spy. Huang had admitted that he had been unfaithful to his wife but did not name the third party.

The recent scandals wiped almost half a trillion dollars off Nvidia’s market valuation, and US lawmakers have summoned Huang to face their questions in December. The bombshell has also set off a blitz of memes using AI-generated video and images.

According to a Bloomberg report, people familiar with the situation said Huang had lost his usual demeanour leading up to his resignation, and he had started using phrases like “whatever” and “I don’t care”.