Earlier this month, as the country grappled with widespread violence and internet shutdowns, Bangladeshi students protesting against government quotas found support from an unexpected quarter: online fans of the South Korean pop band BTS.
India Today has identified at least 50 self-proclaimed BTS fan pages that posted and promoted posts with hashtags such as #StepDownHasina, #StudentsUnderAttack and #QuotaReformProtest.
At least 140 people were killed in clashes in Dhaka and other cities during protests demanding an end to reservations in government jobs and education for relatives of those who fought for the country’s independence from Pakistan 50 years ago.
During the unrest, the internet was completely unavailable for at least five days and partially unavailable for nearly a week, leaving millions of people unable to access social media.
Meanwhile, Bangladeshi citizens living abroad were the only ones who raised the voice of their countrymen – calling for pressure on the Hasina government through social media trends. Even domestic news channels were shut down for several days.
In an effort to gain wider attention, many of them turned to BTS’ ARMY (Adorable Representative MCs for Youth), as the band’s fans call themselves – calling on them to amplify the voices of the protesters. Many of them did so.
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 over a week ending July 23.
Many participants, like @btslinesiconic, which has more than 84,000 followers, did not post anything about Bangladesh before the campaign. “All eyes are on Bangladesh. We stand with Bangladeshi students,” reads the post.
Some even changed their display name or profile picture. For example, @lunovjae changed her name to “xo, saaf quota reform BD student” and began sharing posts supporting the protests. This user tagged Spanish authorities and international organizations in tweets, with one tweet saying, “We need international media coverage from you.”
Other users, such as @makkeishitero and @bboohaoshi, also changed their display names and added “Kota Reform BD Students” and “Save our students, Kota Reform BD”.
Historical tweets from many of these accounts show strong participation in campaigns in support of 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 said it aimed to “destroy the toxic fan base” and criticised BTS for “promoting atheism and homosexuality”, the report said Brink.
Internet shutdown
Internet observatory NetBlocks reported bans on Facebook and WhatsApp on 16 and 17 July, followed by a complete internet shutdown in Bangladesh from the next day that continued for the next four days. Fixed-line internet connectivity was partially restored on 23 July.
“Internet connectivity remains widely disrupted in Bangladesh despite some restoration of fixed-line services,” Alp Toker, director of NetBlocks, said in a statement sent to India Today.
He said the shutdown has adversely affected the families and left-wing activists who are struggling to keep a check on any possible human rights violations during the protests.