Weibo bans BTS fan account for illegal fundraising

Chinese social media platform Weibo banned a fan club of popular South Korean K-pop band BTS from posting for 60 days, saying it had raised funds illegally, days after photographs of a customized airplane funded by the fan club were posted online.

The fan club account, which had over 1.1 million followers on Weibo, was centered around BTS member Jimin. The restrictions imposed on the account came amid China's campaign to clean up the entertainment industry and clamp down on "irrational behavior" exhibited by fans.

The BTS fan account was banned from posting on Weibo after images circulated online last week of a customized airplane from Jeju Air with images of Jimin on it. The customized airplane was part of the club's plans to celebrate his 26th birthday in October.

The stunt drew swift criticism online for its excess. Following the backlash, the account issued a statement last week on its feed urging fans to be "rational" when chasing celebrities for a "harmonious and healthy Internet environment."

Weibo said in a statement on Sunday that the group has been banned from posting for 60 days after it was found to have raised funds illegally. "Weibo firmly opposes such irrational star-chasing behavior and will deal with it seriously," the statement said.

The fan club began raising money in April to prepare for the birthday celebrations, according to Global Times, with over 1 million yuan (US$150,000) raised in the first three minutes of the fundraising activity and 2.3 million yuan in the first hour.

The club also planned to run advertisements celebrating Jimin's birthday in newspapers like The New York Times.

It is not uncommon for K-pop fans worldwide to celebrate the birthdays of their favorite celebrities by taking out advertisements in newspapers and billboards or customizing public transport vehicles with images of their idols. Many fans also raise funds to donate to charitable causes such as funding education for the underprivileged or sponsoring wild animals in stars' names as part of such celebrations.

Weibo also said in a separate statement that it banned 21 other fan accounts for 30 days for posting "irrational star-chasing" content. The banned fan accounts were mostly centered around K-pop celebrities.