Weibo, A Chinese Social Media Platform, Has Deactivated 22 K-Pop Accounts.
Key Sentence:
- A group of K-pop fans in China is the latest victims of the suppression of celebrity culture.
- The Chinese social media site Sina Weibo blocked twenty-two fan profiles for "irrational star-chasing behavior."
Among them are fans from the Korean pop group BTS, who raised money on the platform to personalize the plane for singer Park Ji-Min's 26th birthday. Weibo accused fan accounts of "illegal fundraising" for the stunt. In a statement, the company tell it "strongly opposes and will take seriously the irrational behavior that haunts the stars."
He's also committed to "cleaning up" online discussions and "setting community rules" on his platform. BTS profile has been blocked for 60 days. In addition, other accounts supporting K-pop acts Blackpink, GOT7, and EXO that have Chinese members have been suspended for 30 days.
The move comes amid more comprehensive restrictions on China's entertainment industry and fan culture in particular. Last week, two government agencies issued guidelines stating that they would ban the broadcast of "vulgar internet celebrities" and "men of feminine appearance" because they do not represent the values the country wants to promote.
In June, China's Cyberspace Administration (CAC) also announced ten steps to "clean up" what it described as a "chaos" of celebrity fan clubs. Activities that encourage children to give money to their idols will be banned, and social networks deemed "bad influences" will be closed. Attempts to sort celebrities by popularity are also prohibited.
Earlier this year, media analyst Kerry Allen told the BBC that Beijing was increasingly concerned that "fan clubs might mobilize in person or online to hold protests for their favorite stars."