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A raging war between the BLACKPINK fandom and other K-pop fandoms is currently brewing on Twitter with the hashtag #Blinkscyberbullying. The hashtag began with a TWICE fandom calling out toxic BLINKs who cyberbullied one of Talk That Talk group’s translators. The translator is now allegedly hospitalized.
Trigger warning: Cyberbullying
On September 25, 2022, Twitter user @harishk065 brought to light a horrific incident concerning @twice_trans, one of TWICE’s biggest fan translator accounts on the micro-blogging site. The netizen detailed a thread warning every fandom to expose the harsh realities of being a K-pop fan on Twitter.
@harishk065 posted screenshots of some BLINKs, even doxxing @twice_trans. Doxxing refers to publishing private information or photos of an individual intending to harm a person. As per the original poster, the translator's account was hacked, and the admin’s pictures and social media profiles were leaked.
K-pop fans stand together against multiple cyberbullying incident by toxic BLACKPINK fans
A few fans from BLACKPINK’s fandom were being called out for being toxic and taking fanwars to a whole other level. In K-pop industry, the competition between fandoms is often gravely intense. These fights usually lead to the idol group’s reputation being tarnished, as fans are the representatives of the group. The latest fandom to be caught up in the same is BLINK.
A TWICE fan, @harishk065, shared that a fellow ONCE was “unconscious in the hospital.” The ONCE in question was @twice_trans, a fan translator with 133.9k followers on Twitter. The admin of the translator's account was suffering from anxiety and other mental issues.
Some BLINKs hacked into the admin’s account and leaked their photos. They even made horrible memes about them and attacked them on their personal social media accounts.
The Twitter user who shared the story on the internet mentioned that the acts were beyond K-pop and “a criminal offense.”
As the post about the fan translator being hospitalized began spreading, several BLACKPINK fans asked for proof, called it a drama, and even said that the admin deserved it.
Many believe that the BLINK fandom harassed @twice_trans in revenge for TWICE’s Dahyun casually skipping a YouTube ad of BLACKPINK Lisa’s LALISA during a recent livestream. Fans defended Dahyun, saying that it was not done with any malicious intent when she was seen vibing to the song before skipping it.
As #BlinksCyberBullying started gaining attention, other K-pop fans also joined the discourse. They pulled out screenshots and instances where toxic BLINKs bullied several fandoms online.
A few past instances of BLACKPINK’s toxic fans include harassing BIGBANG’s T.O.P for blurring the group’s name, stabbing a model for wearing similar clothes and posing in the same manner as BLACKPINK's Rosé, and even targeting a BTS member.
It is important to note that cyber bullying does not only apply to BLACKPINK's fandom but to many other K-pop fandoms in general. They, too, have faced the ire of perpetuating toxicity.
Instances of fans going overboard, whether online or offline, are plenty in the K-pop industry. Its deep-rooted cause lies in the heavy competition idol groups are often pitched and marketed for, where fans believe it is their ultimate right to cross boundaries to protect their artists. However, it only ends up tarnishing the group’s image.
