The article describes how the tickets for 2020 Donald Trump presidential campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, were sold out to a group of people that had no intention of coming. Instead, they intended to embarrass the ex-president, who would speak to an empty arena. Although the article expresses concern about internet communities, there is no reason to see K-Pop Stans and zoomers who use TikTok as a threat to the state of politics in the United States.
The article emphasizes the ability of TikTok and K-Pop Stans to organize and affect the political events. Besides sabotaging Trump’s rally, they frequently spammed white supremacists’ hashtags on Twitter, where they have a dominant presence. However, the effects of such action are argued to be determinant in the greater perspective. K-Pop Stans movement should not be compared to terrorist organization, as this community is indicative of zoomers’ behavior. Gen-Z generation is hallmarked by its internet savviness and engaging in activities such as spam posting to express their protest. Hence, spamming on Twitter, and doing web-based disruptive activities by the K-Pop Stans or any other youth group is a representation of a new form of protest that is likely to remain relevant in the future digital age.
In conclusion, K-Pop Stan communities consist of regular young people, who have the right to express their political opinion regardless of their music preferences. Many other communities disrupt business or political activities online that can be found on sites such as Reddit or 4Chan; hence, their form of protest should be considered a new norm for the digital age we live in. Therefore, it is important not to transpose old sociological concepts onto new digital phenomena, which needs to be approached with open mind.