Twitter Categorizes #WhiteLivesMatter As K-Pop Trend As Fans Flood It With Gifs, Memes

TOPLINE

A day after they were partially credited with President Trump’s low rally turnout in Tulsa, Oklahoma, K-pop fans flooded the #WhiteLivesMatter hashtag on Twitter Monday morning, turning it into the platform’s number one trend—and fooling the algorithm into categorizing it as a K-pop trend—as the massive, dedicated fanbase continues to support the anti-racism movement.

KEY FACTS

Big number

Over 6 billion. That’s how many tweets K-pop fans posted in 2019, according to Twitter’s blog.

Key background

This isn’t the first time K-pop fans have deliberately drowned out racist hashtags on Twitter. Fans took over #WhiteLivesMatter on June 3, as the hashtag was gaining ground on the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag being used amid protests and civil unrest sparked by George Floyd’s killing. K-pop fans have waged similar efforts against #BlueLivesMatter and #WhiteOutWednesday in recent weeks. 

News peg

The Trump campaign in a Sunday statement said K-pop fans and TikTokers used “bogus” phone numbers to register for the rally, which “never factor” into their expected attendance numbers. Other critics, like MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, said the small turnout could be attributed to fears of the Covid-19 pandemic and Trump’s declining popularity (which recent polls appear to support). 

Further reading

Trump Campaign Claims ‘Tens Of Thousands’ Of TikTokers And K-Pop Stans Used ‘Bogus Numbers’ To Register For Tulsa Rally (Forbes)

K-Pop Fans Drown Out Racists By Co-Opting #WhiteLivesMatter On Twitter And Instagram (Forbes)

Did TikTokers and K-pop fans foil Trump’s Tulsa rally? It’s complicated. (Washington Post)

K-pop fans are taking over ‘White Lives Matter’ and other anti-Black hashtags with memes and fancams of their favorite stars (CNN)