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QWER's latest lightstick design controversy escalates into massive fandom war online

AKP STAFF

Posted by Sophie-Ha 1 hour ago 1,876

QWER recently unveiled the design of their official lightstick, a megaphone-inspired concept. However, The Boyz's fandom, The B, quickly pointed out its striking resemblance to the boy group's official lightstick, sparking controversy.

In response, some The Boyz fans organized protest trucks and hashtag movements demanding that QWER alter the design. What began as a debate over product similarity has now escalated into a full-fledged fandom war.

Reports emerged that certain QWER fans have gone beyond leaving criticism and are allegedly sending sexual harassment messages, threatening to dox The Boyz fans, and even vowing to create deepfake videos using personal photos obtained through social media.

One fan leading the protest movement released a statement stressing that their intention was only to push for a design change, not to disparage QWER or their supporters. The fan wrote:

"Hello. I am the account owner currently running the hashtag campaign and truck protest. Throughout this process, I have never once made personal attacks, mocked, or insulted the opposing artists or fans—and I have no intention of ever doing so. Even so, I am now being threatened by opposing fans, saying they will expose my personal information, and I am suffering from great anxiety because of it.

The reason I started this activity was solely to demand a change in the lightstick design. At no point did I ever intend to disparage other artists or attack their fans. My purpose and goal are clear: it is only this one matter.

Therefore, I sincerely ask that you refrain from unreasonable, threatening, and inappropriate actions such as exposing my personal information.

Lastly, I would like to make another request to The B (The Boyz’s fandom). When you participate in the campaign or post messages, please stop the personal attacks and insults directed at the opposing artist and fans. I hope our strength is used in the right way—based on facts and with respect."

"As you can see in the screenshot below, there are continued threats about exposing my personal information. If this happens even one more time, I will report it without leniency. Even if I am leading the campaign, that does not mean you can post anything you want without distinguishing what should and should not be said.

Also, the new campaign account is jointly managed with other leaders—it is not used by me alone. Please do not send malicious DMs or mentions.

And please remember, exposing Deobis’ personal information or invading their privacy goes beyond simple fan conflict and can lead to legal problems. If you have any screenshots or evidence related to this, please make sure to keep them.

I, too, am exhausted and struggling because of this incident. I truly hope everyone can act with the mindset of protecting each other."

Now, The Boyz's fandom is sharing a warning of the potential doxxing dangers and suggesting that The B members turn their social media accounts to private.

Translation: "The Bs switch your Instagram accounts to private for the time being, and if any strange person tries to contact you or you get a bad feeling, immediately save photos, recordings, and screenshots! Especially if your account shows your face or personal information — even more so!! I’m so grateful and proud that The Bs are working hard on the mass support, but I’m getting increasingly worried about The Bs. We haven’t done a single thing wrong, but because the other side is reckless/stupid, it’s affecting us too…"

Translation: "Sansam, please share this. Right now, some crazy b****ds from their fandom are saying they’ll doxx people and use the photos of The Bs posted on SNS to make deepfakes. If possible, delete personal photos from your account, and at ATA, wear a hat or mask to cover your face. Let’s be careful."

With both groups scheduled to appear at the same festival this weekend, concerns are mounting over how the conflict might unfold offline. Korean netizens have expressed shock and disgust at how far the situation has escalated, condemning the threats of doxxing and deepfake creation as crossing a dangerous line.

They commented:

"Yesterday the campaign account asked if anyone had actually received threats, and it seems like it turned out to be true… The hashtag campaign has been put on hold for safety reasons."

"This isn’t just some ordinary male-dominated community, so they’d better get their act together and handle this properly."

"But seriously, why is that company blowing this up so much? Why can’t they just change the lightstick design? They’re making all the female fans turn against them."

"I actually saw a DM a few days ago about doxxing, but since it had fan photos, I couldn’t share it anywhere."

"There are unspoken rules in this fandom world that everyone acknowledges… Even if you’re not The B, anyone in the idol scene knows them. If you want to be in the idol world, you follow those rules. Why are they breaking them and going wild? No logic, no communication, and now they’re even trying to commit crimes."

"Same level as the men who watch female streamers."

"Wow, this is beyond what I imagined."

"No matter how bad idol fandoms get, they’re nothing compared to those real incel losers. I saw a DM screenshot on Twitter, and it was unbelievably disgusting."

"Honestly, I’m done. I don’t even want to hear the name QWER anymore. If they’re at the same event, I’ll never go. Just change the lightstick already and put out a notice. Why do we have to be harmed by these creepy losers because of this mess?"