Entertainment
How K-Pop Fans Are Using Their Power To Support Black Lives Matter
Published
3 years agoon

- K-pop fans have been using their social media power to support the Black Lives Matter movement and fight against racism.
- They’ve used fancams to spam police tip systems and often hijack hashtags like White Lives Matter, MAGA, Blue Lives Matter, and others.
- Some have also spread clickbait posts about fake celebrity gossip to direct people to important links.
- After BTS and its music label donated $1 million to BLM, the fandom launched a campaign to collectively match that donation, quickly surpassing their goal.
K-pop Fans and Fancams
K-pop fans have proven themselves to be a strong force on the internet, with the power to make pretty much anything go viral. Now, like many all over the world have done since the killing of George Floyd, the fans are using their voices to support the Black Lives Matter movement and protest against police brutality.
If you’ve spent any time on social media over the last two weeks, you’ve probably already seen some of the tactics the fans have organized. Many accounts have been sharing petitions, donation links, and information to support protestors, but the use of fancams and K-pop edits are arguably their most noticeable and successful tools.
Fancams, if you don’t know, are closeups of a K-pop idol filmed by an audience member during a live performance. For many, fan-made edits of preexisting K-pop footage can also fall under this term, but there are often arguments within the community about the difference between these types of clips.
Either way, fancams essentially focus on a specific K-pop group member singing and dancing, and they’re widely used on Twitter as a way to advertise or celebrate their favorite stars. Some people also find them incredibly annoying because K-pop fans have been known to hijack viral treads or trending topics to flood them with these videos. They do this basically as a way to capitalize off that topic’s popularity.
Spamming Tip Lines
So how have they used fancams to support BLM? Well at the end of May, the Dallas Police Department asked the public to send them videos of illegal activity from the ongoing protests.
It specifically asked people to download the videos to their iWatch Dallas app, which is basically a place for the community to submit tips to law enforcement.
If you have video of illegal activity from the protests and are trying to share it with @DallasPD, you can download it to our iWatch Dallas app. You can remain anonymous. @ChiefHallDPD @CityOfDallas
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) May 31, 2020
Shortly after that tweet was sent out, others called for people to flood the app. The idea here was that fancam spam would make it harder to see actual submissions that could lead to the arrests of protesters.
The Kpop stans have taken down the Dallas police department. pic.twitter.com/KLVcO9RZD0
— ✡︎(((Theo is George Soros)))✡︎🏳️🌈 (@jewish_activist) June 1, 2020
stan twitter nows your chance to use them fancams for GOOD please https://t.co/5FPlL1bkqD
— pretty boy dad (@notextzone) May 31, 2020
K-pop fans flooded the app so much, they apparently crashed it. Within a few hours after posting its request for footage, the department said the app was down temporarily.
Due to technical difficulties iWatch Dallas app will be down temporarily. pic.twitter.com/zksA1hkVhV
— Dallas Police Dept (@DallasPD) May 31, 2020
It was eventually restored and the department claimed that the cause of the interruption was still being determined.
Fans then used the same strategy when police in Grand Rapids, Michigan made a similar online portal to submit photos and videos from demonstrations.
y’all already know what to do KPOP STANS RISE https://t.co/vTHAN2fR6n
— allie 📌 #BLM, ACAB (@YGSHlT) June 1, 2020
However, when the department closed that portal and switched to a phone line for reporting, it stressed that the unrelated spam had nothing to do with it. Instead, it said that it received more than 20,000 tips that were enough to start working on warrant requests and arrests.
Still, some believe spam definitely had an impact, but it didn’t end there.
People called for fans to do this again when the FBI called for tips. However, the FBI’s post prompted even more than just K-pop fans to fight back.
kpop stans you know what to do https://t.co/rKuAfEuvhv
— hot car gatorade (remix) (@local__celeb) June 2, 2020
In fact, thousands of people started to flood them with submissions of officers beating demonstrators, shooting rubber bullets, and firing tear gas during protests. Though, the FBI has said that it is still processing tips and has safeguards that deal with any deliberate attacks.
Hijacking Hashtags
On top of all these efforts, K-pop fans have also been working to derail conversations happening under certain hashtags. For example, when some tried to get “white lives matter” tending, fans spent days making sure that hashtag was full of fancams, song lyrics, and anything that could generate confusion about the original topic.
It’s worth noting that there has been criticism of this since fans taking over the hashtag actually allowed it to trend for days. Still, others argue that they’re essentially making the tag useless across social media since its now full of unrelated information.
They’ve done the same for hashtags like MAGA, Blue Lives Matter, All Lives Matter, and others.
Kpop fans are taking over M*GA and pro-police hashtags and crashing law enforcement snitch apps and it’s beautiful https://t.co/h2HzGj9MEx pic.twitter.com/uUPgHOu76W
— Laura Hudson (@laura_hudson) June 3, 2020
Clickbait Posts
Then, other posts shared by K-pop accounts –and actually a ton of other people online– are these sort of clickbaity Twitter threads. These posts try to lure people in with juicy gossip about a celebrity, but they actually direct people to petitions, donation links, and more information about the Black Lives Matter movement.
For example, one of the most popular ones promises information about “how jay z ruined beyoncé’s and rihanna’s friendship.”
how jay z ruined beyoncé’s and rihanna’s friendship; a thread pic.twitter.com/YB3xZiniJQ
— leyah ✿ blm (@fentyybeyy) June 2, 2020
Match A Million Campaign
Now, these aren’t the only ways the fandoms have helped the cause. On Saturday, news broke that BTS and its studio Big Hit Entertainment donated $1 million to Black Lives Matter.
This came just days after the band made a statement staying, “We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.”
우리는 인종차별에 반대합니다.
— 방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt) June 4, 2020
우리는 폭력에 반대합니다.
나, 당신, 우리 모두는 존중받을 권리가 있습니다. 함께 하겠습니다.
We stand against racial discrimination.
We condemn violence.
You, I and we all have the right to be respected. We will stand together.#BlackLivesMatter
In support of that, fans launched an effort to collectively match that donation themselves under the hashtag #MatchAMillion. As of Monday morning, they surpassed that goal, with donations still rolling in. According to the BTS Army’s site for the donations, the funds will be split evenly between 16 different organizations.
All of this isn’t to say that K-pop fans are 100% on the same page about racial issues or are without faults themselves. There have been some internal conversations about cultural appropriation as well as antiblack racism within the community and K-pop industry.
there’s tons of kpop idols that have said colorist, racist, ignorant things or have done cultural appropriation. as a POC, i do NOT have to accept their apologies. i never spoke bad on bts but did say a big fuck you towards people who are trending “I STAN THE RIGHT GROUP.” as a – pic.twitter.com/KmAmbwXH52
— 𝘷𝘪𝘢 ¹¹ BLM. (@yumekoluvbot) June 4, 2020
Yeah it’s funny and to some degree helpful that kpop stans are acting as fancam vigilantes against the all l*ves matter folks but that doesn’t cancel out how generally antiblack and toxic this fan community is
— snidget🌦 (@snidget2) June 4, 2020
In response, many have been calling for discrimination within fandoms to end and have been urging K-pop stars to do more to speak out against racism.
In general, K-pop fans have really proven that they know how to use social media to funnel attention towards whatever they care about. They can easily reach millions of people a day, and with their collective power, can really help make changes. Though the internet has been frustrated by K-pop stans time and time again, most seem appreciative that they are using their voices for such an important social issue.
See what others are saying: (The Atlantic) (Vox) (The Washington Post)

“The creation, promotion, or viewing of this content is not welcome on Twitch,” the company said in a blog post.
New Rules Regarding “Synthetic NCEI”
Twitch is cracking down on explicit deepfake content and will indefinitely suspend users who share or promote it after a first offense.
“The existence of this content, and its presence and distribution on various sites, is personally violating and beyond upsetting. Deepfake porn isn’t a problem on Twitch, but it’s a terrible issue that some streamers (almost exclusively women) may face on the internet at large,” Twitch said in a Tuesday blog post, explaining it wants to “help streamers protect themselves” in any case this issue arises.
Twitch referred to this content as “synthetic non-consensual exploitative images,” or “synthetic NCEI,” but many of the platform’s users have casually referred to it as deepfake porn. Synthetic NCEI involves someone taking the face of another person and editing it into a pornographic video to make it appear as though that person filmed themselves demonstrating those sexual acts. The new rise in access to this technology has concerned many, as it is easy to use it to exploit others.
While synthetic NCEI is already banned on Twitch, the company took a more actionable step against it in its Tuesday post by creating an Adult Sexual Violence and Exploitation policy. The new rule prohibits the intentional sharing, promoting, or creation of synthetic NCEI and those acts can result in an indefinite suspension on the first offense.
Twitch also updated its Adult Nudity policy to include synthetic NCEI. Even if it is only shown briefly, that content will still be taken down and result in an enforcement.
In addition to the policy changes, Twitch made available a list of resources for those who might be impacted by or wish to learn more about synthetic NCEI.
“The creation, promotion, or viewing of this content is not welcome on Twitch,” the company said closing its blog post.
Growing Concerns About Explicit Deepfakes
Twitch’s updates come as synthetic NCEI and deepfakes have become a primary topic of concern for social media platforms. Earlier this year, Twitch was home to a major deepfake controversy after a streamer known as Atrioc was caught with an open tab to a website that hosted these videos. That site specifically hosted deepfakes of female Twitch streamers, some of whom were Atrioc’s colleagues.
Many women featured on the page spoke out against these deepfakes, explaining the trauma they endured knowing their face, image, and likeness were used in a sexual manner without their consent. It’s an issue that extends far past Twitch creators. Some fear they could be used for revenge porn, and there are already several cases where the technology is used to create sexual videos of celebrities.
On Tuesday, NBC News published a report finding that Facebook and Instagram ran suggestive ads featuring deepfakes of actresses like Emma Watson and Scarlett Johansson. The ads were for a deepfake app that told users they could “replace face with anyone.”
While the ads did not show explicit pornographic content, one ad featuring Watson was clearly meant to mimic the start of an explicit video, suggesting a sexual act was about to start. The face of the “Harry Potter” actress was seen looking into the camera before bending down.
The report found that 127 ads with Watson deepfakes and 74 with Johansson deepfakes ran across Meta’s platforms on Sunday and Monday, but have since been removed. The app in question was also removed from the Apple app store after NBC News contacted the tech giant for comment.
See what others are saying: (The Verge) (Engadget) (Kotaku)
Entertainment
Fans Defend Pedro Pascal After Actor Refused to Read Thirst Tweets: “It’s Sexual Harassment”
Published
2 weeks agoon
March 6, 2023
Pascal has been dubbed the Internet’s “daddy,” but many think the joke has gone too far.
Pascal’s Heartthrob Status
Fans are defending actor Pedro Pascal after he refused to read thirst tweets on the red carpet, arguing that it is inappropriate and disrespectful to ask him to do so.
Pascal, the star of HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Disney+’s “The Mandalorian,” has become a major Hollywood heartthrob. He has even been widely dubbed as the Internet’s “daddy” by those posting about his handsome looks. The running joke grew last year when he did a Vanity Fair lie detector test and said he considered himself a “bigger daddy” than “Star Wars” star Oscar Isaac.
“Daddy is a state of mind, you know what I’m saying? I’m your daddy,” he quipped during the interview.
Since then, TikTokers have started posting thirst trap edits of Pascal, journalists have called him “daddy” on the red carpet, and interviewers have shown him tweets where fans call him a “cool, slutty daddy.”
Pascal has been a good sport about the public displays of lust for him, but many think the joke may have crossed a line. During last week’s red carpet premiere for season three of “The Mandalorian,” an Access Hollywood reporter went viral for asking Pascal to read thirst tweets to the camera. Pascal politely declined.
“No. Dirty! Dirty!” he told the reporter after reading through the tweets.
“For your enjoyment only,” she responded.
“Thank you very much,” Pascal said before exiting the interview.
this is the worst thing I’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/7npzBOqCxk
— lauren | tlou & mando spoilers (@djarinluck) March 1, 2023
Fans Condemn Thirst Tweet Interviews
In response, many who watched the clip condemned this treatment of Pascal, arguing it promoted constant objectification.
“I think it’s time for the internet to leave Pedro Pascal alone,” one person wrote. “It’s sexual harassment, but no one seems to care bc he’s a man + is graceful about it. It’s really gross and I would never want to be treated like that.”
I think it’s time for the internet to leave pedro pascal alone. It’s sexual harassment, but no one seems to care bc he’s a man + is graceful about it. It’s really gross and I would never want to be treated like that. https://t.co/NuNwWuPQMz
— dominick 🏳️⚧️ (@transguyenergy) March 3, 2023
“These jokes have gone way too far and he’s visibly uncomfortable,” another fan added.
i literally have to skip videos of people sexually harassing pedro pascal or making him read thirst tweets bc it’s so gross and cringe!!! like these jokes have gone way too far and he’s visibly uncomfortable
— renny (@boyeat3r) March 4, 2023
Some claimed that while the Internet’s love of Pascal “started as harmless fun…the constant public objectification and sexualization must be terrible” and should stop.
The entire internet thirsting for Pedro Pascal started as harmless fun, but this has to stop omfg
— Mads (@Mads_five) March 3, 2023
The constant public objectification and sexualisation must be terrible to live https://t.co/Mf1CRn0rBe
“Being attractive, banking on it, selling it, and even at times enjoying some of the attention, doesn’t give everyone wholesale permission to sexualize you,” someone else argued.
Being attractive, banking on it, selling it, and even at times enjoying some of the attention, doesn’t give everyone wholesale permission to sexualize you. Everyone is allowed to use their charm for their own benefit. What’s not ok is “taking” from someone without consent. https://t.co/hbsJOGEm7b
— voEROS (@voEROSttv) March 2, 2023
See what others are saying: (IndieWire) (The Gamer) (BuzzFeed News)
Entertainment
Conservatives Pledge to #BoycottHershey After International Women’s Day Campaign Featured a Trans Woman
Published
3 weeks agoon
March 2, 2023
“I hope this campaign shows trans girls they can dream big and change the world too,” activist Fae Johnstone said in her Hers for She video.
Hershey Highlights Fae Johnstone
Step aside, Green M&M. Conservatives have a new candy that they’re mad at: Hershey bars.
On Wednesday, Hershey Canada unveiled its “Her for She” International Women’s Day initiative, which aims to celebrate “women changing the future.” Conservatives were quickly outraged by the company’s choice to highlight Fae Johnstone, a trans woman and LGBTQ+ rights activist, as part of this effort.
“We can create a world where everyone is able to live in public space as their honest and authentic selves,” Johnstone said in a “Her for She” video.
In addition to Johnstone, the campaign features gender equality activists, a climate tech researcher, and an indigenous rights activist, all of whom have fought for progress in their respective fields. The women will appear on Hershey’s websites, in marketing promotions, and in artistic renderings on Hershey bar wrappers.
Johnstone wrote on Twitter that she hopes Hershey’s campaign will “give more young women and girls role models” who can demonstrate how to “change the world, together.”
“It also means a lot to be included, as a young(ish?) trans woman,” Johnstone continued. “I grew up with few trans role models. Many young trans folks haven’t met a trans adult. I hope this campaign shows trans girls they can dream big and change the world too.”
It also means a lot to be included, as a young(ish?) trans woman. I grew up with few trans role models. Many young trans folks haven’t met a trans adult.
— Fae Johnstone, MSW (@FaeJohnstone) March 1, 2023
I hope this campaign shows trans girls they can dream big and change the world too ❤️🏳️⚧️💪🏻
A Swift Transphobic Backlash
This decision, however, prompted right-wing Twitter users to accuse Hershey of hating “real” women. Many of the posts included blatantly transphobic rhetoric, as well as promises to boycott the company because it went “woke.”
The outrage was so prominent that #BoycottHershey was one of the top Twitter trends on Thursday morning.
This backlash comes just a little over a month after conservative media figures like Tucker Carlson slammed M&M for making the green mascot character, well, less sexy.
In response to Mars changing the green candy’s outfit, Carlson accused the Mars company of making its characters “as unattractive as possible because when you’re intentionally repulsive, it’s clear you’ve got the right politics.”
Not long after the right-wing backlash, M&M opted to replace its “spokescandies” with actress Maya Rudolph.
The conservative outrage targeted at both Hershey and M&M is part of a larger culture war against any company that makes changes to address diversity, climate change, or other social issues. Brands like Xbox, “Sesame Street,” and more have at one point provoked the ire of Fox News hosts and other Republican figures.
In fact, their outrage against these progressive changes has become so common that once #BoycottHershey was trending, some tweeted that they did not even have to click on the hashtag “to know that they must have done something compassionate that the right hates.”
I don’t even need to click on Boycott Hersheys to know that they must have done something compassionate that the right hates.
— Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) March 2, 2023
See what others are saying: (The Daily Beast) (MarketWatch) (Bloomberg)

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