Stan Twitter is a community of
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
users that post opinions related to celebrities, music, TV shows, movies, and social media. The community has been noted for its particular shared terminology but also for incidents of harassment and bullying. Usually, Stan Twitter revolves around discussing
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
s,
singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
s,
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
s,
athlete
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
s, and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
s.
Background and description
![Eminem-01-mika](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Eminem-01-mika.jpg)
The origin of the term ''
stan
Stan or STAN may refer to:
People
* Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name
** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy
* Stan (surname), a Romanian surname
* Stan! (born 1964), American author ...
'' is often credited to the 2000 song "
Stan
Stan or STAN may refer to:
People
* Stan (given name), a list of people with the given name
** Stan Laurel (1890–1965), English comic actor, part of duo Laurel and Hardy
* Stan (surname), a Romanian surname
* Stan! (born 1964), American author ...
", about an obsessed fan, by American rapper
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
featuring British singer
Dido
Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC.
In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...
.
[ The word itself was added to the '']Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'' in 2017. The term was originally a noun, but over time evolved and began to be used as a verb as well.
Stan Twitter has been noted by ''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' as one of the "tribes" of Twitter. ''Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
'' has described Stan Twitter as "an overarching collection of various fandoms", and additionally as a community that " ignifiesindividuals congregated around certain, specific interests ranging from queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
identity to K-pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
groups, and added that "Stan Twitter is essentially synonymous with fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of empathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significant ...
twitter." ''The Daily Dot
''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Founded by Nicholas White in 2011, ''The Daily Dot'' is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometown ...
'' wrote that "Stan Twitter is essentially a community of Extremely Online like-minded individuals who discuss their various fandoms and what they 'stan'." Stan Twitter has also been noted for its common overlap with LGBTQ+ Twitter communities. ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' noted, for example, that "Gay male culture has always coalesced around female pop stars, from Judy Garland
Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
to Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
and Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
."[
Mat Whitehead of '']HuffPost
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' described stans as "volcanic", and added that they are "organised, ... dedicated and—at times—completely unhinged." Whitehead went on to describe stans of recording artists, writing "stans aren't just superfans, they're a community of like-minded souls coming together, unified under the banner of wanting to see their chosen celebrity flourish. Friendships are made, bonding over a shared love of an artist, their work, their achievements."
Culture
Stan Twitter has been noted for its extremely fanatic culture and behavior. '' Vanity Fair'' highlighted American pop singers Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
, Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
, and Korean groups like BTS
BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...
as artists who have "''extremely'' fanatic fanbases". ''Vanity Fair'' also credited those fanbases and "stan culture and its associated engines" with helping propel the popularity of music videos for those artists.[ Stan Twitter has also been highlighted for commonly sharing memes within respective communities and utilizing a particular vernacular and terminology.] Online stan accounts are frequently run by impassioned teenagers, and they can "take on a corporate monotone on par with many singers' own junket." An artist's fanbase is often attached to a nickname used in the media, and in some cases given by the artists themselves.
Some outlets have also touched on stans being "toxic" in their fanaticism. The subculture has been noted by the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
for displaying a trend of "toxic fandom" which includes fans joining to bully or harass others in the name of an artist.[ '']Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' cited Jordan Miller as stating " tanswill eat their own"; Miller runs BreatheHeavy.com, "a pop music website that for many years was the premier Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
fansite."[ El Hunt of '']NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' wrote "most of the time, stanning is harmless. It's old-fashioned fandom for the internet age. But often, stanning manifests as a kind of blind, unquestioning devotion – the kind of thing that leads the BTS Army to talk about their idols like they're gods on earth who can't be criticised," and added that "at its worst, tanning
Tanning may refer to:
*Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather
*Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin
**Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun
**Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...
can lead to threatening behaviour, mob-handed bullying and it can even turn on the object of affection."[
]
Memes and terminology
A common activity that those in the Stan Twitter community engage in is sharing memes
A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural i ...
with each other and onto their Twitter accounts. ''Polygon'' wrote about how those in Stan Twitter share memes with the belief that the memes have an insular quality to them. One meme, "Stan Twitter, do you know this song?" was noted by media outlets as particularly popular among Stan Twitter, being able to intersect more specific communities. ''Polygon'' described that the meme "seems very silly at first glance," as it is "expressed through an overly obnoxious all-caps exclamation, ndpairs the sentence with theme songs from early '90s TV shows, random YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
videos, anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
tracks, ''High School Musical
''High School Musical'' is a 2006 American musical television film directed by Kenny Ortega and written by Peter Barsocchini. The 63rd Disney Channel Original Movie (DCOM) and first installment of the ''High School Musical'' film series, th ...
'' remixes and random one hit wonders." ''Polygon'' further noted that the meme was "designed around nostalgia-baiting people who love to bring up beloved childhood memories.
The terminology used by the Stan Twitter community has also been the subject of discussion. Much of the community's slang originated in African-American Vernacular English
African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black (Vernacular) English, Black English Vernacular, or occasionally Ebonics (a colloquial, controversial term), is the variety of English natively spoken, particularly in urban ...
(AAVE), with various sources writing about how many Stan Twitter users have appropriated AAVE terms. The terms ''tea'' and ''wig'' have been attributed to African-American LGBTQ communities; the term ''wig'' particularly has been attributed to the drag community, specifically from the phrase "wig snatched" used by the black LGBTQ ballroom culture
The Ballroom Scene (also known as the Ballroom community, Ballroom culture, or just Ballroom) is an African-American and Latino underground LGBTQ+ subculture that originated in New York City. Beginning in the late 20th century, Black and Latino ...
of the 1980s. ''The Daily Dot
''The Daily Dot'' is a digital media company covering the culture of the Internet and the World Wide Web. Founded by Nicholas White in 2011, ''The Daily Dot'' is headquartered in Austin, Texas.
The site, conceived as the Internet's "hometown ...
'' and ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' cited American singer Katy Perry
Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...
's usage of the term on ''American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
'' as helping propel its popularity online. The popular Internet meme of Kermit the Frog
Kermit the Frog is a Muppet character created and originally performed by Jim Henson. Introduced in 1955, Kermit serves as the everyman protagonist of numerous Muppet productions, most notably ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Muppet Show'', as well ...
sipping tea has also been frequently paired with the ''tea'' term.
The term ''stan'' itself is used as both a noun and verb with many variants, including " or westan", which is a phrase used for one to express a liking of, as well as praise or support of, any person or artistic work. Aside from the term ''stan'' itself, common words and phrases used in the community include: ''cancelled'', '' keysmash'', ''fancam,'' ''moots,'' ''tea,'' ''tw'','''' ''cw'','''' ''oomf'', ''naur'', ''wig'', and ''skinny legend.''
Contrast with local Twitter
A key component of the Stan Twitter culture is its contrast with Local Twitter; individuals deemed part of Local Twitter are colloquially referred to as simply ''locals''. ''The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' likened ''local'' to past terms such as ''square'' and ''normie''. The publication wrote that "much like being basic, but online, 'local Twitter' describes someone who loves decidedly, even painfully mainstream things." ''The Atlantic'' described Local Twitter as a group of "mostly white, well-adjusted suburban teens who share stale platitudes of the kind that some Internet users might call 'basic'." Local Twitter is also sometimes referred to as Bare Minimum Twitter. ''Polygon'' defined Local Twitter as the "general population of Twitter—people not congregated around specific interests or in defined communities." In the context of Stan Twitter terminology, ''local'' is similar to a pejorative term. ''Stans'' are noted to view ''locals'' as a group that cause memes and jokes to lose their humor."
Controversial incidents
Artist–stan relationships
The culture of Stan Twitter has been noted by media outlets and celebrities as "toxic". ''Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' noted that singer Alessia Cara
Alessia Caracciolo (born July 11, 1996), known professionally as Alessia Cara (), is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Mississauga, Ontario, to Italian Canadian parents, she began posting covers of songs on YouTube at age 13. After uploadi ...
lamented over the "toxicity" of Stan Twitter; she was quoted, "This whole world of stan culture, while it's amazing and great and connective a lot of the time, it can be very hurtful."
There have been several instances of celebrities deactivating or taking a break from using their social media accounts due to harassment directed at them from stans. In 2016, Normani
Normani Kordei Hamilton ( ; born May 31, 1996) is an American singer and dancer. She auditioned as a solo act for the American television series ''The X Factor'' in 2012, after which she became a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which wen ...
of Fifth Harmony
Fifth Harmony, often shortened to 5H, was an American girl group based in Miami, composed of Ally Brooke, Normani, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and previously Camila Cabello until her departure from the group in December 2016. The group signe ...
briefly quit using Twitter due to racial abuse from Camila Cabello
Karla Camila Cabello Estrabao (; ; born March 3, 1997) is a Cuban-born American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence as a member of the girl group Fifth Harmony, which became one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. While in ...
stans.[ In 2017, American rapper ]Cupcakke
Elizabeth Eden Harris (born May 31, 1997), known professionally as Cupcakke (often stylized as CupcakKe; pronounced ), is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois. She is known for her hypersexualised, brazen, and often comical persona and mus ...
also opted to stop using Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
because she received death threats from BTS
BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-produ ...
stans, after she made a sexual comment about member Jungkook
Jeon Jung-kook (; born September 1, 1997), known mononymously as Jungkook (stylized as Jung Kook), is a South Korean singer. He is the youngest member and vocalist of the South Korean boy band BTS.
Jungkook has released three solo tracks as p ...
. Millie Bobby Brown
Millie Bobby Brown (born 19 February 2004) is a British actress and producer. She gained recognition for playing Eleven in the Netflix science fiction series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–present), for which she received nominations for two Prime ...
, an actress most notable for her role in ''Stranger Things
''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...
'', also deactivated her Twitter account due to a meme popular in the Stan Twitter community.[ The meme falsely attributed violent and homophobic language and behavior to Brown.][ Critics of the meme expressed that the meme bullied Brown.]
Aside from deactivating their accounts, artists have also addressed their fans, requesting them to not go after those perceived to be critical or detrimental to the artist.[ In a light-hearted post, pop singer ]Bebe Rexha
Bleta Rexha (; born August 30, 1989), known professionally as Bebe Rexha ( ), is an American pop singer and songwriter. After signing with Warner Records in 2013, Rexha received songwriting credits on Eminem's single " The Monster" (which later ...
mentioned her father's critical take on her more "risqué scenes" in her "Last Hurrah
''The Last Hurrah'' is a 1956 novel written by Edwin O'Connor. It is considered the most popular of O’Connor's works, partly because of a 1958 movie adaptation starring Spencer Tracy. The novel was immediately a bestseller in the United Stat ...
" music video. Some of her stans posted "mean" comments about her father in response, which resulted her in stating, "Don't say mean things about my dad, please."[
]
Media–stan incidents
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
affiliate WMAQ-TV
WMAQ-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Telemundo outlet WSNS-TV (chan ...
in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
was the target of an online campaign by BTS and Shinee
Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and th ...
stans, using the hashtag #NBCChicagoApologize, in December 2017 after mistakenly running a video of BTS, from their appearance on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
'' in November, while reporting on the death of Shinee's founding member JongHyun. The station apologized for the mistake on the morning newscast and on the station's social media accounts the next day.
A similar incident happened with the Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n Nine Network
The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...
program '' 20 to One'' when on June 19, 2019, the presenters cracked several jokes at the band's expense, including comparing their popularity to the explosion of a North Korean nuclear bomb. BTS stans demanded an apology from the presenters, causing them to trend the hashtag #ChannelNineApologize, for which Nine issued an apology the next day saying "We apologize to any who may have been offended by last night's episode."
''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'' and ''The Inquisitr
Inquisitr, a website started in 2007 for news and entertainment stories, was relaunched in May 2011. It is owned and operated by Inquisitr Ltd.
History
The web domain for Inquisitr was registered in Iceland on August 6, 2007. The company was fo ...
'' covered a 2018 incident involving the Barbz (a name for stans of Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...
) sending hate mail and death threats to blogger Wanna Thompson after Thompson suggested Minaj release more mature music. Thompson described the messages, stating "You have these stans camped out on Twitter and nowiki/>Instagram.html"_;"title="Instagram.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Instagram">nowiki/>Instagram">Instagram.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Instagram">nowiki/>Instagramwith_someone_else's_face_in_their_[
avatar_(computing).html" "title="Instagram">nowiki/>Instagram.html" ;"title="Instagram.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Instagram">nowiki/>Instagram">Instagram.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Instagram">nowiki/>Instagramwith someone else's face in their [
avatar (computing)">profile picture
In computing, an avatar is a graphical representation of a user or the user's character or persona. Avatars can be two-dimensional icons in Internet forums and other online communities, where they are also known as profile pictures, userpics, ...
] hurling insults because they can."[ Minaj replied to the situation, citing "Pills n Potions", "Bed of Lies", and "All Things Go" as examples of mature music in her discography.
]
Other controversial incidents
In June 2019, Nicole Curran, the wife of Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. Founded in 194 ...
owner Joe Lacob
Joseph Steven Lacob (born January 10, 1956) is an American business executive who is a partner at Kleiner Perkins and the majority owner of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Early life and education
Lacob gr ...
, was the target of online harassment and death threats by Beyoncé
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...
stans. This was the result of a video which showed her leaning past Beyoncé to speak to Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
during a Warriors game.[ In an ]Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
post, Beyoncé's publicist addressed the incident and stated, "I also want to speak here to the beautiful BeyHiVE. I know your love runs deep but that love has to be given to every human. It will bring no joy to the person you love so much if you spew hate in her name."[
In October 2019, the now-defunct pop punk band ]Yellowcard
Yellowcard is an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1997 and was based in Los Angeles beginning in 2000. The band is recognized for having a distinct sound in their genre, primarily due to the prominent use o ...
were the target of social media backlash from Juice Wrld
Jarad Anthony Higgins (December 2, 1998 – December 8, 2019), known professionally as Juice Wrld (pronounced "juice world"; stylized as Juice WRLD), was an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was a leading figure in the emo rap and So ...
stans using the hashtag #FuckYellowcard after former members of the group sued the rapper for $15 million, claiming that his hit song "Lucid Dreams
A lucid dream is a type of dream in which the dreamer becomes aware that they are dreaming while dreaming. During a lucid dream, the dreamer may gain some amount of control over the dream characters, narrative, or environment; however, this is n ...
" copied the melody of their song "Holly Wood Died". Most of the backlash had been from the band extending "a deadline for defendants to respond to the lawsuits" into February 2020 following Juice Wrld's death in December 2019.
In the wake of April 2020 reports of North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...
having potentially died, many Twitter users were noted by media outlets as stanning his sister and speculated successor Kim Yo-jong
Kim Yo-jong (; born 26 September 1987) is a North Korean politician and diplomat serving as the Deputy Department Director of the Publicity and Information Department of the Workers' Party of Korea, or WPK. She also served as an alternate membe ...
. Some users were also noted to post fancams of Kim Yo-jung. While some users defended their post as jokes, media outlets and other users criticized the stanning of Kim, even if done in jest.
Political activism
In 2020, Stan Twitter, in particular K-pop
K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gos ...
fan accounts, received media attention over its involvement in American politics. During the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries
Presidential primaries and caucuses were organized by the Democratic Party to select the 3,979 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention held on August 17–20 to determine the party's nominee for president in the 2020 Unit ...
, some Nicki Minaj fans expressed support for Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Vermont since 2007. He was the U.S. representative for the state's at-large congressional district from 1991 to 2007 ...
using the hashtag #Barbz4Bernie. During the George Floyd protests
The George Floyd protests were a series of protests and civil unrest against police brutality and racism that began in Minneapolis on May 26, 2020, and largely took place during 2020. The civil unrest and protests began as part of internati ...
, many hashtags opposed to the Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (abbreviated BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people. Its primary concerns are incidents of police bruta ...
movement, including ''# AllLivesMatter,'' ''#WhiteLivesMatter,'' ''#WhiteoutWednesday'', and ''# BlueLivesMatter'', were flooded with images and videos of K-pop artists to drown out those using them. Similarly, when the Dallas Police Department
The Dallas Police Department, established in 1881, is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Dallas, Texas.
Organization
The department is headed by a chief of police who is appointed by the city manager who, in turn, is hir ...
asked people on Twitter to submit videos of protesters, its iWatch Dallas app was instead flooded with fancams. Though ''The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media' ...
'' noted that despite these K-pop fandoms showing support for Black Lives Matter, many Black K-Pop fans continue to face racism online. K-pop stans and TikTok
TikTok, known in China as Douyin (), is a short-form video hosting service owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which can range in duration from 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
TikTok is an international version ...
users also took credit for falsely requesting tickets to President Trump's Tulsa rally on June 20, 2020, leading to a disappointing turnout. US Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
commented on the event, tweeting "KPop allies, we see and appreciate your contributions in the fight for justice too." ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' noted that "the recent turn toward political activism in the United States also follows a concerted effort by K-pop fans in recent years to make positive change en masse, in part as a reaction to the groups' reputations as superficial, silly and even menacing mobs".
During the 2022 Philippine presidential election
The 2022 Philippine presidential and vice presidential elections were held on May 9, 2022, as part of the 2022 general election. This was the 17th direct presidential election and 16th vice presidential election in the Philippines since 1935, ...
season, K-Pop stans had started voter education campaigns to empower their fellow fans, organized food pantries to help others in need and created posts, groups, hashtags and fanpages supporting then-Vice President Leni Robredo
Maria Leonor "Leni" Gerona Robredo (; born Maria Leonor Santo Tomas Gerona; April 23, 1965) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 14th vice president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022.
She was the wife of the late Jesse ...
, detracting any hashtag that would smear her reputation as a presidential candidate.
See also
*Black Twitter
Black Twitter is an internet community largely consisting of African-American users on the social network Twitter focused on issues of interest to the black community in the United States.André Brock"From the Blackhand Side: Twitter as a Cultural ...
*Fan (person)
A fan or fanatic, sometimes also termed an aficionado or enthusiast, is a person who exhibits strong interest or admiration for something or somebody, such as a celebrity, a sport, a sports team, a genre, a politician, a book, a movie, a vid ...
*Larries
Larries are a group of Shipping (fandom), shipping Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist One Direction fans who believe that former bandmates Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson have a long-term and Secret dating, secret romantic relationship. A fun ...
*Teenybopper
A teenybopper is an early teenage girl who follows adolescent trends in music, fashion, and culture. The term may have been coined by marketing professionals and psychologists, later becoming a subculture of its own. The term was introduced in ...
*Yas (slang)
''Yas'' is a playful or non-serious slang term equivalent to the excited or celebratory use of the interjection "yes!", carrying LGBT or queer cultural associations. ''Yas'' was added to Oxford Dictionaries in 2017 and defined as a form of excl ...
References
Further reading
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