BTS ARMY demand explanation from YouTube for missing views on music video for 'ON' as #YtBring67MBack trends
The BTS ARMY versus YouTube saga continues.
The second music video for the track 'ON' from BTS' new album 'Map of the Soul: 7' has already made history after achieving the highest number of views ever for a YouTube premiere.
It also broke BTS' own record for fastest MV to reach 10 million by surpassing that figure in just over an hour. And yet, BTS fans were not happy. The reason is related to the mysterious case of disappearing views that seem to plague BTS music videos uploaded to YouTube.
The views for 'ON' currently stand at just over 64 million views thanks to the dedicated efforts of ARMYs who tirelessly stream BTS content day and night. But the ARMY says that the number should be much higher.
They went on to accuse YouTube of deleting views, claiming that nearly 70 million views from the first 24 hours after the video's release are missing.
Since the accusation surfaced, the ARMY has tweeted at YouTube non-stop demanding an explanation.
They've even gone as far as starting a petition on change.org claiming that the actual number of missing views as of now is over 100 million, and are demanding an official statement from YouTube explaining why this is happening.
Some took to downvoting the YouTube app to drop its ratings and leaving negative comments. "I SWEAR I'M SO PROUD OF OUR AMAZING FANDOM!! YOUTUBE RATING WENT FROM 4.7 TO 4.3!!! LET'S GO ARMYYY!! VOTE 1 STAR!" tweeted one fan.
Many fans pointed out that the methods of streaming used by the fandom might be read as bot activity by YouTube, whose algorithm has often been blamed for being the root cause for altered view counts.
One fan tweeted "This is getting tiring...Can you please clarify once and for all whether or not emojis effects the view count or disrupts the tool you use to detect legitimate views?"
In one of it's all too few responses, one of the platform's Twitter accounts responded by saying "It's normal to see views slow down, freeze, or adjust while we verify that those are real and accurate. Here’s more info on how this works: https://yt.be/help/Jgao. If you meant something else, let us know!"
This response simply angered the ARMY further. Unfortunately, the actions of the angered ARMY appears to be having a negative impact on the fandom's image.
While one section of the fandom participates in charitable activities, including donating to the Magic Breakfast project to thank James Corden for his treatment of BTS on his show, and more recently, donating the refund from BTS' Seoul canceled concert towards Coronavirus relief efforts, the other is going after a platform that has allowed creators from all backgrounds to put out their work without having to rely on large companies, agencies, or investors.
Targetting the platform inadvertently impacts the hardworking creators who tirelessly create content in order to support themselves.
However, as long as YouTube chooses to ignore the endless stream of tweets and remain silent on exactly why their algorithm is deleting views on BTS videos, it seems like the ARMY and content creators are the ones who will continue to suffer.
Nonetheless, considering the music video for 'ON' is all about creating your own path while standing up to and breaking free of larger, oppressive forces, the ARMY's fight against YouTube does seem rather poetic. Check it out below!