K-Pop Stan Twitter

K-pop Stan Twitter is a neutral-to-derogatory term for a particular subsection of K-pop fandom on Twitter that frequently uses contextless fancams to respond to both trending topics on Twitter and controversial or otherwise terrible opinions of popular twitter users. They stan one or more K-pop idols (sometimes known as their bias) and use the associated language of stan culture to communicate with other fans. As an in-group term, "stan twitter" is neutral but to an outsider (called "locals" by stan twitter) the term is often said in a derogatory or negative light.
Stan twitter is so prolific and enthusiastic that mainstream media has started to take notice, with the Chips Ahoy (yes, the cookie) Twitter being converted from a brand Twitter into a K-pop stan accountChips Ahoy! Twitter Account. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. which led to a brush with anti Twitter when they said they they would be unfollowing any K-pop antis they saw.Tweet from @AntiFandomTakes. Posted 14 Nov 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. PewDiePie also attempted to leverage the power of BTS stans to gain followers during the PewDiePie vs T-series feud. Other celebrities have also had run-ins with K-pop stan twitter that ended poorly.Rapper Cupcakke mocks Chungha/K-pop on Twitter. Posted 23 Sept 2019. Accessed 13 Dec 2019. It has also led to several Social Media AUs where characters are fans of K-pop groups (usually BTS) such as the doofenperry twitter au!!! and the related squidbob twitter ausquidbob twitter au‼️ by @RATDAD420. Posted 25 March 2018. Accessed 10 Dec 2019. while also leading to meta fanworks like the OH_mes x Reader text au.OH_mes x reader TEXT AU~ by @messformes. Posted 6 Jan 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
== Examples ==
Some notable examples
* busanwings - A BTS stan who would eventually debut as an idol themselves in P1Harmony. 
* nugupromoter - A popular account with over 100k followers, responsible for promoting nugu girl groups, meaning unpopular and unknown.
==Terminology==
* stan
* oomf / croomf
* selca (셀카) is the Korean word for selfie. It is a contraction of the English words self (셀프) and camera (카메라). It was used by international K-pop fans on and off Twitter before the advent of 'selfie' and, though use has declined somewhat since an English term now exists, it is still common amongst K-pop fans.
* skinny
* flop
* local(s)
* moots
* clapback
* ratio
* carrd
* bestie
* d-word
* hard stan
* soft stan
=== Fancam Replies ===
K-pop stans on Twitter are known for replying to tweets and trending topics with tweets that contain fancams. The practice is relatively recent, with the first known use of the term "fancam replies" being in a tweet from November 2018,Tweet from @hyunsoIs. Posted 23 Nov 2018. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. but it's quickly spread in popularity and scope to become perhaps the defining feature of K-pop stan twitter to locals. While the practice of doing so isn't inherently bad and is comparable to the tactic of posting a dismissive .gif to end an argument, some fans see it as, at best, an annoying behavior and at worst genuinely harmful or destructive. In response to a post on /r/OutOfTheLoop asking about the practice, Reddit user Lisbethy defined fancam replies as follows:
The rise of fancams being used in replies can likely be linked to the growing belief that fans can save or otherwise influence the source of their fandom via their shows of support. While this has happened on occasion, girl group EXID being a prominent example,EXID Member Hani’s Viral “Up and Down” Fancam Exceeds 20 Million Views. Posted 4 Jun 2016. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. social media allowing the blurring of the fourth wall allowing fans to feel closer to creators resulting in breaking the fourth wall becoming more common means that many fans don't think about the larger implications of fancam replies. The Mashable article about the phenomenon says the following about the practice:
While not everyone who sees a fancam in the replies to a tweet thinks that all K-pop fans are terrible, when even former K-pop stan twitter users are asking about the toxicity of stan twitter and expressing that it made their lives miserableis kpop stan twitter that toxic ? Posted 8 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. it's safe to say that the worst behaviors of stan twitter are speaking over all the good it can do in a general sense. Other K-pop fans who maybe don't consider themselves "stans" have also expressed annoyance at the behavior of K-pop stan twitter.Fancams on twitter are annoying. Posted 13 May 2019. Accessed 16 Dec 2019.Unpopular Opinion: Fancam Spamming/Streaming. Posted 19 April 2019. Accessed 16 Dec 2019.
=== "Maybe If They Stanned" ===
A smaller subsection of the fancam reply phenomenon is the trend of K-Pop fans on Twitter replying to news story links about celebrity deaths or other bad news with the phrase "maybe if [they] stanned [band] then [bad thing wouldn't have happened]." Usually this celebrity is not related to K-Pop, as when Descendants actor Cameron Boyce recently died,Tweet from @MissSarahLouise. Posted 7 Jul 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. but even K-pop stars aren't immune.Tweet from @lalalalisaSo. Posted 17 Jul 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. The practice is wildly derided among locals and K-pop stans alike, with everyone generally agreeing that tragedy is not the time to be making that sort of comment.
While many K-pop stans now believe that the vast majority of these replies are trolls and encourage others to block and report the accounts making themTweet from @emtrv. Posted 8 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.Tweet from @flirtsjisung. Posted 17 Jul 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. the fact remains that some of the replies in the beginning were made by actual K-pop stansTweet from @aesthetaeguk. Posted 19 Jan 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.Tweet from @estelamd13. Posted 7 Sept 2018. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. and other people seized upon this behavior as a way to discredit K-pop fans. The phrase is now a meme among both K-pop stan Twitter and the larger Twitter userbase, with other stans of different artists using it in similar situations:
That has led to K-pop stans using the fact that other fandoms also do this as a kind of "gotcha" when people express anger at the fact that K-pop stans reply to tragedies with this type of responseReply from @ItsAJibooty. Posted 16 Oct 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. rather than apologizing for the behavior of the more toxic parts of their fandom. Not everyone agrees with this mentality, with some K-pop fans being adamant that the fact that this phrase is believable to locals as being from K-pop twitter is due to the fact that K-pop fandom is like that and would do these things, whether or not it originated from actual K-pop fans.
===Trend Takeovers===
It's a common phenomenon for K-pop fans to take over trending topics on Twitter to promote their fancams in a similar manner to taking over the replies of tweets. Usually the trends are derogatory in the vein of #loganpaulisoverpartyTweet from @ArdentPrayer. Posted 7 Oct 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019. or #LizzoisoverpartyTweet from @goddess_rayray_. Posted 4 Nov 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019. and feature replies in the vein of "lizzo who stan sana instead"Tweet from @sanascunty. Posted 4 Nov 2019. or "lmao ytbers are sht stan kim seokjin instead."Tweet from @Moonsatan06. Posted 8 Dec 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019. The majority of K-pop stan twitter approves and even enjoys this behavior because many of them view it as a way to find new fancams to watch and enjoyTweet from @navamyg. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.Tweet from @steponmenow. Posted 6 Dec 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.Tweet from @injunloml. Posted 26 Nov 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019. which highlights the darker side of fancam replies mentioned in the Mashable article. They are also known for taking over tags against them and using the same tactic to overtake it, such as the often-used #kpopstansareoverpartySearch for #kpopstansareoverparty on Twitter. Accessed 10 Dec 2019. or #fancamsareoverparty.#fancamsareoverparty on Twitter. Accessed 16 Dec 2019. K-pop stans on Twitter frequently say things like "why are yall crying over people dancing"Tweet from @btstokio. Posted 16 Dec 2019. Accessed 16 Dec 2019. or "whats wrong with people dancing? really got locals that pressed"Tweet from @polaroidygs. Posted 16 Dec 2019. Accessed 16 Dec 2019. in response to hastags critical of them, which reflects a disconnect where they don't understand why others find their behavior annoying or even problematic.
While the trends that K-pop fans take over are usually benign, there have been instances of K-pop fans taking over other, more serious hashtags to promote their fancams.Thread from @toxxxicaddict. Posted 16 Oct 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019. NCT fans have taken over a football-related hashtagNCT's WinWin trends worldwide after fans take over football hashtag. Posted 13 May 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019. and there have also been instances of K-pop fandom clashing with other fandoms over hashtag takeovers, such as when Jin quoted Avengers: Endgame and said "I love you 3000" during a concert. This caused a clash between MCU and BTS fandoms, with the MCU fandom claiming that BTS fandom "stole" the hashtag and turning a minor disagreement into a fandom war.Did BTS Just Steal Marvel Avengers’ Phrase ‘I Love You 3000’? The Fandoms Fight It Out! Posted 7 Aug 2019. Accessed 10 Dec 2019.
== Notable Events/Trends ==
=== #KpopTwitterIsGoingToJailParty ===
The hashtag #KpopTwitterIsGoingToJailParty (and its variant #KpopTwitterIsGoingToJailhttps://www.koreaboo.com/article/k-pop-fans-cause-chaos-twitter/) was trended by global kpop fans trended on Twitter in 2016. 
The tag started in response to a Carat (fan of the boy group Seventeen), called Vivan (handle @ultthe8) posted a photo of another person's credit card on 4 June 2016. The post was captioned "buy yourself something girlies." https://aminoapps.com/c/k-pop/page/blog/kpoptwitterisgoingtojailparty/bkIo_uloQnz21zXl7Kb2V0lPJkjnr Fans allegedly used this card to make purchases that included plane tickets to Seoul. In response to the idea of fans facing potential legal ramifications for credit card fraud, fans started to joke and meme on the prospect. 
Another Twitter user claimed that the image was originally theirs and the card was that of their ex-boyfriend. https://web.archive.org/web/20160605100854/http://www.hollywoodtake.com/k-pop-twitter-going-jail-party-how-vivians-credit-card-tweet-led-freeultthe8-hashtag-and-165971 Someone else claimed to have called the police on the fans' behavior (it is unknown if anyone ever faced legal repercussions). 
During the chaos, the @ultthe8 twitter account was briefly suspended, leading to another trending tag #Freeultthe8. 
The event ultimately turned into drama with the fandom for the band 5 Seconds of Summer. Because the user who claimed to have called the cops was a fan of the band, kpop fans took this as an opportunity to drunk on the other fandom. As a result, another hashtag #5SOSFamAreSnitchers2k16Party" started trending.
==== Later Instances ====
Overall, the 2016 trend is looked back on as hilarious by many stans who were there to participate as one of the many crazy moments in kpop Twitter fandom. 
Similar trends to this hashtag have been used by fans. One example is #ARMYIsGoingToJailParty used by fans of BTS. 
In 2019, kpop fans hijacked the tag "#harrystylesgoingtojailparty." This upset other users who decided to trend #KpopTwitterIsGoingToJailParty, but were unaware of the hashtag's status as a beloved meme and inside joke for the community. So, kpop fans banded together to reclaim the hashtag. https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/kpop-twitter-blast-getting-ready-incarceration-kpopgoingtojailparty-twitter/ 
In 2019, a writer for Koreaboo commented that, " 'Going to Jail Parties' just might have more fandom uniting power than anything else in the K-Pop universe" and "The K-Pop multifandom has created and gone through so many 'Going To Jail Parties' we can’t wait to see the next reason everyone’s getting locked up."
=== #BanKpopAccounts ===
In Aug 2019, popular YouTuber Keemstar of the show Drama Alert called for the banning of all K-pop accounts.Tweet from @KEEMSTAR. Posted 31 Aug 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. He then created the hashtag #BanKpopAccounts and baited the Kpop fandom into getting it to trend worldwide. While Keemstar is considered something of a controversial figure in the YouTube community, since he's something of a troll, he did make a good point in his subsequent tweets about the topic:
While there is no remaining evidence that any K-pop fan has tried to promote their fancams under that specific trending term, this point echoes the complaints that many locals have about K-pop stan behavior on Twitter. In Dec 2019, Keemstar started the hashtag #MuteAllKpopStans to try and get Twitter's CEO to create a function that would mut K-pop stan accounts automatically so trends would be readable again.Tweet from @KEEMSTAR. Posted 7 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019. Then, on 8 Dec 2019, Keemstar tweeted the following:
This caused #BanKpopAccounts to trend on Twitter again, resulting in more commentary from both sides of the issue. A frequent complaint from the K-pop stan side was that nobody ever does anything about homophobic or racist accounts on Twitter, but similar hashtags expressing disinterest or outright hatred of K-pop stans on twitter have trended multiple times.Tweet from @seungbiin. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.Tweet from @epiphjinnie_. Posted 9 Dec 2019. Accessed 9 Dec 2019.
However, many Twitter users weren't necessarily mad about K-pop itself or even the fans of K-pop so much as they were tired of K-pop stans clogging up trending topics and hashtags with their fancams and other behavior. 
=== US politics and Kpop stans, 2020 ===
In 2020, kpop fandom has gone viral for mobilising their fandom to get involved in trolling the Trump Administration. After the Dallas Police put up an app, asking people to call out Black Lives Matter protesters, Kpop fans put out a call on twitter to flood the app with fancams Dallas Observer. "Kpop fans troll dallas police trying to arrest protesters. They also review-bombed the app on the appstore, and were so successful in spamming the app that they crashed it with sheer volume Vulture. Kpop stans crashed Dallas Police App with Fan Cams 
Using their tactics of spamming memes and fancams of their biases, they also took over anti-black hashtags like #WhiteLivesMatter, #WhiteoutWednesday and #BlueLivesMatter. CNN. K-pop fans are taking over 'White Lives Matter' and other anti-Black hashtags.... On June 21, Kpop fans were credited with helping disrupt Trump's rally by registering for tickets but not attending, resulting in less than the arena's 19000 capacity for an event that Trump bragged had a million RSVPs CNN. K-pop fans are being credited with helping disrupt Trump's rally. Here's why that shouldn't be a surprise. 
Public opinion towards kpop stan twitter may be changing as a result. Aside from a mainstream media awareness of the power of youth mobilisation, memes have also surfaced like the following:
==Symbols==
K-pop fandoms use symbols in their Twitter profile display names to indicate which fandoms they are in. Some symbols are combined to signify that a person is a multi, an individual who is a fan of multiple K-pop idol groups.
==References==
Category:K-Pop FandomCategory:TwitterCategory:Fan ActivitiesCategory:Fan Communities