UPDATE: In the hours after this article's publication, Variety was contacted by several people who believed their Twitter accounts had been suspended for participating in the hashtag-takeover detailed below; in fact, the accounts responsible for two of the tweets embedded in this article have been suspended. While a rep for Twitter was unable to speak directly to this incident, they pointed to this section of the company's rules and policies, which seems to indicate that participating in such activity is not itself a violation, although the individuals may have violated other policies while doing so.
Seven months after K-pop fans famously took over the #WhiteLivesMatter hashtag on social media in an effort to drown out racist online chatter, there's been no shortage of other events that seemed ripe for such a move: the presidential debates, the election, the white riot at the Capitol, and any of countless actions and inactions by former President Trump.
But apparently they held off until two days after President Biden's inauguration, mobilizing forces to take over the #ImpeachBidenNow after a deeply cynical attempt by Republicans to retaliate for the former president's second impeachment by making a similar move on the new president on his first full day in office.
Controversial Republican Congressperson Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene announced on Twitter: "I've just filed articles of impeachment on president Joe Biden, we will see how this goes.
"President Joe Biden is unfit to hold the office of the presidency. His pattern of abuse of power as President Obama's vice president is lengthy and disturbing."
Greene, a steadfast Trump supporter who is said to have connections to the QAnon conspiracy theory, is just a month into her term in Congress. She has also filed articles over long-refuted claims of corruption against Biden and his family.
Americans just beginning to grow accustomed to not having several daily dumpster fires emanating from the Oval Office awakened on Friday to see #ImpeachBidenNow trending with nearly 100,000 Tweets.
But like #WhiteLivesMatter, clicking on the hashtag brings up tweets like these:
#ImpeachBidenNow I think it’s a great time to bring back this masterpiece: pic.twitter.com/pGtrcdlU0g — Amber (@superstars169) January 22,2021
Im sorry i gotta do this pic.twitter.com/a6bAopAKfj — ya boi jerome here simps for kurisu (@pyroar78902) January 22,2021
Me: #ImpeachBidenNow is trending? WTF? Also me when I see it was k-pop highjacked: pic.twitter.com/DkHoj6Hq5H — Erin (@3isahandful) January 22,2021
Happy to assist in stealing this hashtag #ImpeachBidenNow pic.twitter.com/4NFXEtMCKN — Grannyof4. (@Grannyof42) January 22,2021
Apparently, the GOP still has not learned what many web editors know all too well from experience: K-pop fans do not play around.
A rep for President Biden's office did not immediately respond to Variety's request for comment. – Reuters
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