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BTS fans worldwide are standing up in a show of solidarity for ARMY in Bangladesh, following a series of disturbing acts of physical and mental harassment courtesy of a group of BTS haters.
While the mega-popular BTS has millions of fans, aka ARMY, around the world, there is also no dearth of people who claim to dislike the South Korean band, often due to severely bigoted reasons.
Claims of the band allegedly promoting homos**uality and atheism have acted as fodder for many of these hatemongers. But while earlier attacks and hateful comments were mainly virtual in nature, certain incidents in the last few days indicate a rise in the degree of malice.
Despite of this, there remains solidarity among ARMYs around the world, with ‘BANGLADESH BTS ARMY’ and #ENDVIOLENCE trending across the globe.
Tweets reveal online attack on BTS ARMY fan accounts via Bangladesh based Twitter handle
While this dislike of BTS, rooted in homophobia and racism, is not unprecedented, it recently resurfaced in the news. Several fans noticed that a strange account on Twitter had been making false copyright claims against several of the band’s fan accounts.
The account, named 'Team Copyright', was reportedly aided by Twitter’s newly updated Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which successfully shut down several ARMY accounts, citing stolen images.
After a little investigation, several fans identified the user(s) of this account. Team Copyright was reportedly being controlled by a group of people based out of Bangladesh, Asia, who disapproved of BTS.
The reason, according to them, was the band’s promotion of atheism and homos**uality, two tenets these people are strictly against. The admins, who go by Nazmul Ahmed and Shanto Ahmed (reportedly false identities), claimed that their aim was to destroy BTS’ "toxic fanbase."
After severe retaliation by thousands of ARMY members, the Twitter attacks have slowed down, but things on-ground, i.e., in Bangladesh, appear to have taken a turn for the worse.
BTS fan from Bangladesh reveals harrowing attack
On November 19, 2021, a young BTS fan from Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, revealed a harrowing account of harassment and stalking. The young girl stated that she received death threats after a man on the streets spotted her carrying a backpack with a picture of BTS’ seven members on it.
The victim, who shared the account through a series of tweets, then stated that the man also threatened to s**ually assault her if she carried any more BTS merch. The unidentified man then went on to manhandle her, leaving her hand bruised and scratched.
The young ARMY shared pictures of her wrist, along with the rest of her account. Supporters of BTS and their fan accounts from around the world poured in their love and support, with many advising her on what to do.
After facing a lot of resistance and dissuasion from her family, it appears that the victim finally made it to the police station to file a complaint, although the perpetrator has not been convicted or identified yet.
The victim claimed that the police were unwilling to look into the matter, wanting to settle with money instead.
Following her account, many others shared how they had all been mistreated because of their love for the Korean band, often due to very bigoted reasons. Despite the disapproval, though, these fans expressed pride in being part of ARMY.
ARMY around the world show solidarity, with #ENDVIOLENCE and 'BANGLADESH BTS ARMY' trending
In light of this event, several ARMY members around the world showed their support for Bangladeshi fans of the band, even offering love and monetary support. #ENDVIOLENCE and BANGLADESH BTS ARMY are trending, with thousands of tweets on the same.
While only time will tell whether the perpetrator and several others inspired by him are caught and punished, the problem is deeply rooted in toxic masculinity and bigotry, and resolving that is no easy task. Despite such adversity, BTS and their fans appear to be doing their best.
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