K-pop fans flood #WhiteLivesMatter hashtag to drown out racist tweets
Taking over Twitter with fan-shot videos, the fans did the same with the hashtags #MAGA and #BlueLivesMatter
As protests are now in their second week across the U.S. following the killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, white police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with second-degree murder while his fellow officers — Thomas Lane, J. Kueng and Tou Thao — have been charged with aiding and abetting a murder.
And as those charges were being added and upgraded, fans of Korean pop were adding their voices to social media to drown out related racist tweets.
Taking over the Twitter hashtag #WhiteLivesMatter — which counters the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag — K-pop fans uploaded fan-shot video after fan-shot video of their favourite groups, effectively flooding the hashtag and pushing aside the typically racist message that comes with it.
The fans also later flooded the hashtags #MAGA (Make America Great Again) and #BlueLivesMatter, hashtags that are often used with the same intention as #WhiteLivesMatter, with fan-shot videos for the same reason. (K-pop fans are very familiar with hashtag-driven voting, and acts like Seoul-based BTS have fans that outperform artists like Beyoncé and Taylor Swift on Twitter, according to Forbes.)
Say no to racism<br>Say yes to fancam 🔥<br><br> <a href="https://t.co/4wWZEw9Ush">pic.twitter.com/4wWZEw9Ush</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteLivesMatter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhiteLivesMatter</a>
—@lisalitae05Let’s put a lot of fancams in this hashtag 😌😌😌 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteLivesMatter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhiteLivesMatter</a> <a href="https://t.co/934XB8klB6">pic.twitter.com/934XB8klB6</a>
—@BLACKPINKUSA_Love you, K-Pop fans, for bombarding the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteLivesMatter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhiteLivesMatter</a> hashtag. You're doing some glorious work today.
—@MikeStuchbery_<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteLivesMatter?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WhiteLivesMatter</a><br><br>Me sleeping peacefully knowing kpop stans took care of this hashtag <a href="https://t.co/im1s1ccgR8">pic.twitter.com/im1s1ccgR8</a>
—@SimplyAnt7This comes a few days after K-pop fans flooded the Dallas Police Department's iWatch Dallas app, which lets people "anonymously submit tips to law enforcement about drug activity, active shooters, bullying, human trafficking, and more," according to the Google Play store. ("iWatch Dallas gives citizens the voice to See Something, Say Something," the description continues.)
On Sunday, May 31, the Dallas Police Department tweeted a reminder about their app, saying it could be used to upload information about protesters.
If you have video of illegal activity from the protests and are trying to share it with <a href="https://twitter.com/DallasPD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DallasPD</a>, you can download it to our iWatch Dallas app. You can remain anonymous. <a href="https://twitter.com/ChiefHallDPD?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ChiefHallDPD</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CityOfDallas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CityOfDallas</a>
—@DallasPD"I hope you like fancams," one user responded, posting a video of K-pop stars BTS.
i hope u like fancams 💘 <a href="https://t.co/Nvk7IW93D1">pic.twitter.com/Nvk7IW93D1</a>
—@hobifvr"I have a video for you," tweeted another.
i have a video for you <a href="https://t.co/UVLUY25y9K">pic.twitter.com/UVLUY25y9K</a>
—@dataorgxiii