BTS ARMYs Call For JTBC Boycott Over Irresponsible Reporting

ARMYs are campaigning for a JTBC boycott after its one-sided reporting misled fans into believing that BTS was seeking legal action against Big Hit Entertainment over the distribution of profits.

According to a report by All Kpop, ARMYs are mobilizing their numbers to boycott JTBC's shows. Among the trending hashtags also included #JTBC_IssueAFormalApology, JTBC_NewsRoom_Apologize, and #BoycottJTBC.

Fans criticized JTBC's exclusive report after Big Hit Entertainment debunked claims of legal dispute between the company and BTS.

In a lengthy rebuttal, Big Hit Entertainment denied the implication made by the JTBC reporter that BTS sought legal opinion from a Gangnam law firm to go after the agency for the unfair profit sharing.

The label clarified that BTS only sought legal opinion on a clause in their exclusive contract that had nothing to do with profits. Big Hit further explained that they have never prevented BTS members from seeking the professional opinion of lawyers and accountants because it was natural for artists to seek enlightenment about the technical aspects of managing their career.

In their statement, Big Hit assured fans that all issues are being addressed by the company to the best of their ability. In doing so, the label also denied claims of brewing discord between the agency and the artists over the distribution of profits.

According to the firm, Big Hit and BTS members understand the equal value that they play in their partnership and have come up with the best model of profit distribution after a lengthy discussion.

In its response to the news report, Big Hit also questioned how JTBC obtained the information they used to make their report, alleging that the JTBC journalist violated the basic principles of fair reporting by presenting only one side of the story. They further accused JTBC of deliberately misrepresenting the facts to cause discord and panic among the fans.

Amid calls for a public apology from the network, JTBC's News Room stood by its report and ignored demands to retract their report, which irked ARMYs even more, another report indicated.

"No apology offered even after the blatant invading of privacy towards BTS, BigHit. We stand by BTS and Big Hit in asking for sincere apologies and responses, an ARMY posted on Twitter.

"Putting blatantly false news on primetime news is dangerous. Now we all have that seed of doubt if they've properly researched the facts of other news segments. How is this responsible journalism?" another Twitter user said, questioning JTBC's methods in crafting the report.

Source: Business Times, Photo: Toomuch940912, CC BY 4.0