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Filipino K-pop fans lead voter education efforts, fight disinformation in 2022 polls

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Jaehwa Bernardo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Concert-goers wear face masks during K-pop group Seventeen’s ‘Ode to You’ world tour at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on February 8, 2020. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/02/20/20200208-seventeen-concert-md-4.jpg"/><figcaption>Concert-goers wear face masks during K-pop group Seventeen’s ‘Ode to You’ world tour at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on February 8, 2020. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA — When Vice President Leni Robredo declared her presidential bid last Oct. 7, her supporters painted social media with shades of pink, her new campaign color. And among those who rallied behind Robredo were local K-pop fans, known for their strong social media presence and digital skills.The group Kpop Stans 4 Leni debuted just hours after Robredo’s announcement, immediately drawing a large following. As of writing, it has amassed more than 12,000 followers on Facebook and over 9,400 on Twitter.“[K-pop fans are] good with planning, we have strategy, we’re active online. So we’re like, ‘Let’s use this for something that’s beyond fangirling or fanboying because we have the skillset anyway,’” said Majo, who found the group with her friends. She requested to be identified only by her first name.The people behind Kpop Stans 4 Leni — currently composed of 31 volunteers, ranging from students to young professionals — did not expect the group to grow into what it has become now.“Mayroon ding ‘napasubo’ factor… Aminado naman kami na parang when we started it, parang it was emotion-driven [dahil tatakbo na si Robredo],” Majo said.(There’s also the factor that we unwittingly found ourselves in a challenging situation… We admit that when we started it, it was sort of emotion-driven because Robredo was finally going to run.)Robredo has been seen as an opposition figure to the administration of firebrand Philippine leader Rodrigo Duterte. She is also a chief rival to former senator Ferdinand “Bongbong’ Marcos Jr, son and namesake of the former dictator.A victory for Marcos Jr. in the presidential race would mark the ultimate political comeback for his controversial family. His father’s two-decade administration included years under military rule that, according to past Philippine governments and various groups, saw widespread human rights abuses and massive plundering.No other local K-pop fan groups expressing support for other presidential candidates in the May elections are known as of this writing.Majo believes their movement is an opportunity to break prejudices against K-pop stans, who are often seen as obsessive and shallow teenagers.<div>Projects</div>Kpop Stans 4 Leni has been promoting Robredo on social media through graphics that show her track record and platforms.“It’s political campaigning but we try to make it K-pop-style in the way that we produce graphics, title the events,” Majo said.One of the group’s major activities is the “Mass Report Hour,” where members simultaneously report sources of disinformation, similar to how fans mobilize to take down social media posts that they perceive as harmful to their idol’s reputation.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/02/22/leni-is-top-subject-of-disinformation-says-fact-check-group-in-senate-probe">Leni is &#x27;favorite&#x27; subject of disinformation, says fact-check group in Senate probe</a></li></ul>They have also organized voter education forums through Twitter Spaces, teaching fans — including the younger ones who are not of the voting age — the importance of civic participation and how politics affects the “stan” experience.In one session, for instance, a speaker cited how China banned cultural exports from South Korea after Seoul decided to deploy an American anti-missile defense system in 2016.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/overseas/03/17/17/missile-row-drives-korean-culture-underground-in-china">Missile row drives Korean culture underground in China</a></li></ul>Fans are also motivated to vote for someone who can improve the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which they believe will lead to a faster return to in-person concerts.“Kung hindi maayos ‘yong COVID response, paano natin mako-contain ‘yong pandemic? Paano tayo magkakaroon ng concerts? Kasi kumbaga, isa ‘yon sa highlight ng pagiging fan,” said Alyssa, who creates graphics and other publicity materials for the group.(If we don’t have a proper COVID response, how will we contain the pandemic? How will we have concerts again? That’s one of the highlights of being a fan.)Live concerts have resumed in South Korea. K-pop groups, such as ATEEZ and Twice, have also restarted tours in other countries.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/02/16/22/bts-to-hit-stage-in-korea-for-first-time-since-pandemic">BTS to hit the stage in South Korea for first time since COVID began</a></li></ul><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="K-pop fans display their light sticks as they attend Vice President Leni Robredo’s campaign event at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on February 13, 2022. Photo courtesy of Kpop Stans 4 Leni" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/02/20/kpop-stans-lightsticks.jpg"/><figcaption>K-pop fans display their light sticks as they attend Vice President Leni Robredo’s campaign event at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on February 13, 2022. Photo courtesy of Kpop Stans 4 Leni</figcaption></figure></div><div>‘Inspiring’</div>There are advantages for political campaigns who manage to tap into K-pop fans, the biggest of which is the fans’ “intensity” in supporting a personality, said Erik Paolo Capistrano, a professor at the University of the Philippines Virata School of Business.Fan clubs have also shown an impressive ability to organize and solicit donations, and are composed of creative and talented individuals, said Capistrano, who has done research on K-pop fandoms.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/music/12/18/19/wonder-girls-bts-sone-and-a-decade-of-riding-the-hallyu-wavewonder-girls-bts-sone-and-a-decade-of-riding-the-hallyu-wave">Wonder Girls, BTS, SONE, and a decade of riding the Hallyu wave</a></li></ul>Capistrano described Kpop Stans 4 Leni’s efforts as both inspiring and hopeful because “at the very least, there’s progress beyond sharing and making posts on social media.”“Dati-rati, bakit ba tayo nagma-mass report as K-pop fans? Kasi may fan wars,” he said, referring to the fights between fan clubs of different K-pop acts. “Now it’s translated into fighting misinformation, which is such a good thing.”(Back then, why do we mass report as K-pop fans? Because there are fan wars… Now it’s translated into fighting misinformation, which is a good thing.)Fans have also shared photos of themselves attending Robredo’s in-person campaign events, bringing their light sticks — flashlight-like devices that represent which K-pop they support — so they can be identified as stans.But not all stans approve of fellow fans engaging in political and social causes in the name of their idols. To this, Capistrano said “it&#x27;s high time that we actually blur [the] lines” between politics and entertainment, noting how many idols have been vocal on issues such as equality, mental health, race and climate change.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/06/23/20/why-obsessive-k-pop-fans-are-turning-toward-political-activism">Why obsessive K-pop fans are turning toward political activism</a></li></ul>“It’s okay to mix our stanning with politics as long as the issues that are involved are consistent with what the fandom is or what the idols are advocating openly,” said Capistrano, a fan of veteran girl group Girls’ Generation.It’s not the first time that Filipino K-pop stans mobilized for a cause. Fan clubs previously organized donation drives for typhoon victims and put up “community pantries” that offered food to the needy at the height of the pandemic.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/20/21/filipino-k-pop-fans-set-up-community-pantries">Filipino K-pop fans set up community pantries</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/06/01/21/filipino-bts-fans-adopt-8-humpback-whales-for-groups-anniversary">Filipino BTS fans adopt 8 humpback whales for group&#x27;s anniversary</a></li></ul><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Concert-goers during K-pop group Seventeen’s ‘Ode to You’ world tour at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on February 8, 2020. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/news/02/20/20200208-seventeen-concert-md-2.jpg"/><figcaption>Concert-goers during K-pop group Seventeen’s ‘Ode to You’ world tour at SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City on February 8, 2020. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File</figcaption></figure></div><div>Numbers</div>Majo is confident that her group will be able to deliver some 15,000 to 30,000 votes for Robredo, figures based on the seating capacity of the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena where K-pop acts usually hold concerts.“I&#x27;m confident that if we do a concert, we can fill the MOA Arena if we wanted to… But I also know na may (that there’s a) two-day concert,” she said.There’s no confirmed number of K-pop fans in the Philippines, but the country ranked third on Twitter’s list of countries “with the most K-pop fans” in 2021 and 2020. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/01/26/22/ph-is-third-country-with-most-k-pop-fans-on-twitter-in-2021">Philippines is third country with most K-pop fans in 2021: Twitter</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/07/30/21/ph-has-2nd-highest-number-of-k-pop-related-tweets-from-2020-2021">PH has 2nd highest number of K-pop related tweets from 2020-2021</a></li></ul>Capistrano hopes for a high turnout among young voters, noting how in past elections, there has been a disconnect between “the volume” of young voters seen on social media and those who actually troop to the polls.“I’m actually hoping that the kind of intensity we’re seeing right now would narrow that gap,” he said.Close to 2.8 million of this year&#x27;s more than 65.7 million registered voters in the country are aged 18 and 19 who are expected to vote for the first time, the ABS-CBN Investigative and Research Group said.They are part of the 34.5 million registered voters who are below 40 years old, added the research group.Can K-pop fans prove to be influential in a nation’s politics? “We can see indications of that,” Capistrano said.Last year, former student leader Gabriel Boric won Chile’s presidential elections, and K-pop fans were among those who campaigned for him.“But in the case of the Philippines, we will see come May 9,” Capistrano said.<div>FROM THE ARCHIVES</div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1812148" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

In the 2022 elections, a group of Filipino K-pop fans have come together to support a presidential bid, engage in voter education and fight disinformation.

Filipino K-pop fans lead voter education efforts, fight disinformation in 2022 polls

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Filipino K-pop fans lead voter education efforts, fight disinformation in 2022 polls

Jaehwa Bernardo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 20, 2022 08:20 AM PHT

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