Fact Check: Did BTS plagiarise lyrics? Viral social media claim debunked

On Tuesday, May 28, a netizen made a post titled HYBE's Crimes Involving BTS's Plagiarism on theqoo, which soon went viral. In the article, the netizen talks about how HYBE handled the plagiarism accusations thrown at the K-pop group and covered it up, presenting BTS as a victim.

The netizen, in detail, talks about how the members, especially SUGA, RM, and j-hope, the rap line of the K-pop boy group, plagiarized their lyrics from several artists, including Drake, Yankee, BIGBANG's TOP, SoNyeoRadio, Kim Gaeri, Gaeko, etc.

They prove their stance by presenting the various similarities between the lyrics. When the accusations began to grow, the netizen stated that the group addressed the issue in 2014 through their official Twitter account, now known as X, @BTS_twt, denying these accusations. This incident unfolded soon after the group's debut.

The netizen also stated that around 2015, RM was allegedly seen admitting to not having quoted or cited the inspirations behind his lyrics. However, this issue has been debunked and clarified since 2020 through RM's Weverse interview, in which he stated that he only regrets not giving credit to his inspirations. He never admitted or stated that he and the group plagiarized lyrics.

Regardless, the netizens explained that their agency, then BigHit Music, played it as though the K-pop group fell victim to false accusations. In a VCR for one of the group's 2018 concerts, the members were showcased as plagued by these accusations, rewriting the narrative as though the group didn't plagiarize.

The netizen highlighted this amidst the ongoing feud between HYBE and ADOR, where HYBE Labels, the K-pop group's agency, has recently been exposed to several factors such as chart manipulation, media play, etc.

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Netizen resurfaces HYBE Labels' alleged cover-up of BTS' plagiarism amidst the agency's conflict with ADOR

On May 28, a netizen's theqoo post on resurfacing the past plagiarism and chart manipulation allegations passed towards BTS went viral on the internet. In the article, the netizen highlighted how HYBE Labels have been covering up their artists' mistakes and controversies amidst the agency's ongoing conflict with ADOR.

The netizen stated that BTS was accused of both plagiarism and chart manipulation. Though they were never proved to be of legitimate value, the netizen tried to explain that it was rather HYBE Labels' actions and attitude towards these accusations. Instead of addressing the issue directly, they painted BTS as victims of these accusations, according to the netizen.

Here's what the netizen's post read:

"It showed the acronyms for Plagiarism Boys and Sajaegi. At the time, this community was lit up with people saying that, although the Sajaegi (chart manipulation) allegations were wrong, BTS had admitted to the plagiarism accusations."

The netizen added,

"Now that I think about it, there is no way that BigHit Music and HYBE Labels didn’t know the verdict for the Sajaegi accusations and that the leader of their only group had already apologized (for plagiarism). But they still made something like this to incite grief and anger in fans during the concert. After this, inciting anger and grief in fans became HYBE’s signature."

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While netizens understand that the article aims to highlight the alleged illegal methodologies of HYBE Labels, they remain defensive and reject the claim that Bangtan Boys plagiarized or manipulated their music, as these accusations have been debunked.