Social media continues to grow unsafe each day, especially for those in the spotlight. Bangtan Boys or BTS as they are popularly known have been the recipient of numerous death threats of late, on Twitter. Some of those threats have been directed towards band singer Park Jimin. However, BTS's agency Big Hit Entertainment has promised that they will ensure tightest security measures to protect their singer.
As noted by Soompi, Big Hit Entertainment, which manages the Bangtan Boys, said on March 27, "We believe that it is a joke by an anti-fan, but we are taking measures just to be sure," adding, "We are working with the local staff and police to enhance the security." Soompi also mentions that the staff of Honda Center in Anaheim, California, where BTS will hold a concert on April 1 and 2 said, "We are aware of the controversial social media posts. We will work to increase security around the venue."
A post was made on Twitter earlier, by one with the profile @AntiBTSAnti, saying that the person or group of persons will kill BTS's Jimin during the California concert. The now-deleted tweet read "My place is rather discreet for the concert, my gun in my bag and when Jimin will sing Lie. Boom he will die !!" Soompi notes that the twitter user also posted violent images of dead animals, a bleeding hand and a picture containing two guns. The tweet was shared widely. However, the account was suspended shortly.
Koreaboo also notes that it was BTS fans ARMY that first brought attention to the tweets by warning media, Big Entertainment and BTS about the threats. With the hashtag '#ArmysWillProtectJimin,' ARMY began to spread the message on twitter, hoping to warn the band. There have been others who have been photoshopping images and spreading rumours as well, which are meant to damage the reputation of BTS members.
One twitter user called 'Selja,' also known as '@AinsleyPaisley' was accused of spreading malicious lies about BTS members. There were photos spread online accusing her of planning to spread lies that BTS members had sexually assaulted a fan from Brazil. There is no truth to such rumours, Koreaboo asserts. The website also suggests that blame was placed on Selja intentionally and that he may not be involved in the planned murder or spreading lies about BTS.
Hopefully, the death threat is just a very cheap joke and not an actual threat. However, in this day and age where shooting incidents at public places are on the rise, those responsible for the threats, real or fake, should be dealt with in the sternest manner possible.
