THIS page was allegedly purchased by Kakao to praise IVE and other affiliated artists while defaming and slandering other K-pop acts. Here's what happened.
Kakao Entertainment Reportedly Owns 'Idol Lab' Which Used To Defame Competitor Artists
"Idol Lab" (아이돌) is a popular Facebook page that serves as an online media outlet that posts K-pop-related content in the form of card news and boasts the largest number of followers (1.32 million) in this field.
A lot of K-pop fans visit this page to seek updates about an idol group's debut, comebacks and related news as the it evaluates and releases exclusive reports in real-time.
In October, it was reported that the real owner of the outlet is actually Kakao Entertainment, a subsidiary of the large company Kakao.
Kakao Entertainment currently manages various companies:
- IST Entertainment (Apink, Victon, THE BOYZ, more)
- Starship Entertainment (IVE, WJSN, MONSTA X, more)
- EDAM Entertainment
- FLEX M
- Highup Entertainment
- Antenna
While there's no problem that a company owns a page, what caused a hot discussion was due to the fact that the page was accused of doing "reverse viral marketing."
For those who are not familiar with this term, this is an advertising method that allows internet users to naturally obtain information through social media while intentionally creating a negative perception about a specific competitor.
K-pop fans started to dig for the truth about the page after they noticed the "slanderous" content about unaffiliated artists.
"While a number of friendly contents have recently been released for celebrities and idol groups belonging to Kakao Entertainment, a number of slanderous contents have been posted for idols belonging to other agencies."
After this claim, the "Idol Lab" page is now deleted from Facebook.
Kakao Ent Used 'Idol Lab' For IVE To Benefit? Here's Why People Think So
In a newspaper article released by Chosun, the outlet emphasized idol fans' speculation, saying:
"Kakao Entertainment has lowered its competitor's idol group image with groundless slanderous content through 'Idol Lab.'"
For example, the content titled, "LE SSERAFIM changed styling that earns mixed reactions" and "ITZY's new song outfit that divided attention" are uploaded as if the styling or outfit is controversial among fans.
The problem is, there is no mention of what is controversial when you click on the post.
Other idol groups other than Kakao Entertainment, such as New Jeans (ADOR) and NMIXX (JYP), were similarly listed on content suspected of reverse viral marketing.
On the other hand, they mainly posted friendly content for Kakao-affiliated agencies such as Starship Entertainment and IST Entertainment.
As of Chinese netizens' investigation based on Google, IVE and Jang Wonyoung earned the most benefits as positive articles posted about the group reached 5, 100, while 2,880 talked about Jang Wonyoung alone.
This is relatively higher than Red Velvet (2,170), BLACKPINK (1, 620) and TWICE (2, 380), even though the group debuted later than them in 2021.
Chosun added that Kakao brought the page from private citizens 2-3 years ago, and it was given to Kakao's Music Marketing Team for management.
Amid this issue, Kakao Entertainment replied:
"The outsourcing agencies are the ones responsible for posting and managing various posts at the Idol Lab," then denying that there is an intention of reverse viral marketing.
A pop culture critic who encountered this topic revealed their side and commented:
"As suspicions have recently been raised after unilateral bad comments spread about the movie 'Emergency Declaration,' reverse viral marketing is a serious problem in the cultural community. In particular, idol groups may suffer more because they are affected by word of mouth."
READ MORE: DIVEs Demand Starship To Protect IVE Jang Wonyoung Against YouTuber 'Targeting' Idol
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KpopStarz owns this article.
Written by Eunice Dawson.
