BTS ARMY rhymes with Bangladesh protesters' blood, sweat & tears

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jul 26, 2024 16:27 IST

Bangladeshi students protesting government quotas found support from an unexpected quarter earlier this month when the country was reeling under widespread violence and an internet shutdown: the online fanbase of the South Korean pop band BTS.

India Today has identified at least 50 self-declared BTS fan pages that posted and amplified posts carrying hashtags such as #StepDownHasina, #StudentsUnderAttack and #QuotaReformProtest.

At least 140 people were killed in clashes in Dhaka and other cities during protests calling for an end to reservation in government jobs and education for the kin of those who fought for the country’s independence from Pakistan over 50 years ago.

During the unrest, the internet was completely inaccessible for at least five days and partially accessible for about a week, leaving crores unable to access social media.

During this period, Bangladeshi citizens living in foreign countries arguably were the only ones to raise their compatriots’ voice – calling for putting pressure on the Hasina government with social media trends. Even domestic news channels were off-air for days.

In their effort to gain wider attention, many of them turned to the BTS ‘ARMY’ (Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth), as the band’s fans call themselves – calling on them to amplify the protesters voice. Many of them obliged.

Many of these accounts shared similar content, often using the phrase "We stand with Bangladeshi students," which appeared in nearly 9,000 tweets and retweets within a week ending on July 23.

Many of the participants, like @btslinesiconic, which has over 84,000 followers, never posted anything about Bangladesh before this campaign. “All eyes on Bangladesh. We stand with Bangladeshi students,” its post reads.

Some even went so far as to change their display names or profile pictures. For instance, @lunovjae changed its name to "xo, saaf quota reform BD students" and began sharing posts supporting the protest. This user tagged Spanish authorities and international organisations in tweets, with one tweet reading, "We need international media coverage from you."

Other users, like @makkeishitero and @bboohaoshi, also changed their display names and added “quota reform BD students” and “save our students, quota reform BD”.

The historical tweets of several of these accounts show strong participation in campaigns supporting the free Palestine movement.

In 2021, several BTS fan pages were targeted for copyright claims on X by a Dhaka-based group called "Team Copyright." The group stated that it intended to "destroy the toxic fanbase" and criticised BTS for "promoting atheism and homosexuality", reported The Verge.

Internet shutdown

Internet observatory NetBlocks reported restrictions on Facebook and WhatsApp on July 16 and July 17, followed by a total internet shutdown in Bangladesh from the next day which continued for another four days. Fixed-line internet connectivity was partially restored on July 23.

“Internet connectivity in Bangladesh remains widely disrupted despite some restoration of fixed-line services,” Netblocks Director Alp Toker said in a statement sent to India Today.

He said the shutdown adversely affected families and left rights activists struggling to keep an eye on any potential human rights violations during the protest.