Despite currently serving out their mandatory military enlistments, BTS members have kept fans engaged with pre-prepared content.
The latest release from the group is Jimin‘s 'Smeraldo Garden Marching Band (feat. Loco),' which dropped on June 27. While the release brought joy to fans, it also raised suspicions regarding the idol's YouTube performance metrics.
As of writing, Jimin's music video has garnered just over 4 million views and 1.1 million likes. This results in an unusually high like-to-view ratio of about 1 in 4. In comparison, other recent releases from the HYBE LABELS YouTube channel show significantly different metrics.
For instance, TWS's "내가 S면 넌 나의 N이 되어줘" has 405 thousand likes and 14 million views (a ratio of about 3 in 10), while BTS RM's "Lost" boasts 9.8 million views and 1.3 million likes (a ratio of about 6 in 50).
Some fans speculate that the nearly simultaneous upload of three videos on the HYBE LABELS YouTube channel may have affected Jimin's MV views.
The algorithm of youtube think HYBE LABEL is spamming WHICH IS ACTUALLY TRUE BECAUSE LOOK AT THIS https://t.co/xuXZuzEBeV
— g(e)l⁷ | NEVA PLAY (@thanosmfstan) June 28, 2024
Others suspect a larger issue, fearing that BTS as a whole may have been "shadowbanned" by YouTube. Shadow banning, unlike outright banning or blocking, can subtly alter how content is interacted with, leading to discrepancies in documented views and engagement.
One fan voiced their frustration on social media, stating, "...isn't this f*cking weird to yall?"
This isn't the first time fans have raised concerns over YouTube's handling of BTS's content. Shadow banning or algorithmic biases could be influencing the visibility and performance of their videos.
Fans have previously called out YouTube over such issues, leading to heightened scrutiny and ongoing debate about the fairness and transparency of the platform's algorithms.
YouTube shadowbanned BTS. Y'all think posting MVs on bangtantv will help, but it also barely sends notifies. I'm never seeing bts shorts despite my algorithm should be swimming in them. Old MVs are getting more views deleted than they gain. Tardy trends despite high views n likes https://t.co/XDnWx3DZ34
— gomooshin⁷ (@taesoothe) June 28, 2024
we used to get 30M+ views on surprise releases but since chapter two hybe is shadow banned like isn't this fucking weird to y'all https://t.co/q8F0mNoP3B pic.twitter.com/Z9LojBAN3G
— gigi neva play ! ☀️ (@polartaegi) June 28, 2024
bts is shadowbanned by yt becs their decision is not to do paid ads, so yt ends up paying BTS more according to their streams than they gain from the boys
— CIRUS ⁷⁼¹ (@innerchilding7) June 28, 2024
Hence even yt reactor vdos of BTS get lesser reach https://t.co/vW0EKqVUvt
As BTS continues to navigate their military service, the support and vigilance of their fanbase remain steadfast.
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Written by Cassidy Jones.
