After concluding their period of military service and a prolonged hiatus from group activities, BTS will release their fifth full-length studio album on March 20, marking their first full-group comeback in approximately three years and nine months. The new album will feature a total of 14 tracks and is expected to present a vivid portrait of “BTS as they are today,” drawing on the emotions and reflections accumulated throughout their journey. Alongside the album, BigHit Music is also planning to announce the group’s upcoming world tour schedule.
Despite there being two months left until the release date, BTS’s highly meaningful return has already captured the full attention of the public and media worldwide. The name BTS is everywhere, and while much of the coverage is positive, there is also a growing amount of negative content or clickbait that exploits the rising buzz around BTS. The New York Times even faced significant backlash for mentioning BTS in an article about the struggles of K-pop in 2025 to attract views, despite the content having no actual connection to the group.
At this moment, BTS is clearly the ultimate 'media bait' that everyone wants to exploit for attention. Many media outlets have been indiscriminately inserting the group’s name into their content. However, that does not mean ARMYs remain silent when people attempt to profit from BTS’s name. Following the New York Times incident, ARMYs went on to call out another media account on X named “EMPIRE,” which has around 30,000 followers, for dragging BTS into the controversy surrounding HYBE and Scooter Braun.
Specifically, this media account posted a statement accusing HYBE of using profits earned from BTS to transfer money to the United States, or more explicitly, to “pay off Scooter Braun’s debt.” A single post shared on January 7 garnered nearly two million views. To lend credibility to the claim, the post cited a кσяєαn media outlet named @newtamsa as its source.
The information was clearly ѕнσ¢кing and drew significant attention from fans, particularly fueling those who harbor negative sentiment toward HYBE and have long sought to drive a wedge between BTS and their management company. However, level-headed ARMYs quickly identified the ∂ιяту media tactic behind the viral post. Notably, the original article by @newtamsa never stated that the money HYBE used to cover Scooter Braun’s debt came from BTS, nor was the article newly published—it had already been released in December of last year.
In the original article published by NTS Newtamsa on December 25, it was reported that HYBE’s acquisition of Ithaca Holdings in April 2021, valued at approximately 1.2 trillion won, included the repayment of Ithaca’s 120 billion won (USD 83 million) debt. This debt was believed to be Scooter Braun’s personal liability stemming from his acquisition of Taylor Swift’s music catalog; however, Braun reportedly retained the profits while shifting the debt onto Ithaca. To complete the deal, HYBE withdrew 74% of its cash reserves and borrowed an additional 560 billion won.
The original article contained not a single mention of “BTS,” nor did it suggest that BTS had any involvement in the transaction between HYBE and Scooter Braun.
Nevertheless, EMPIRE framed the situation as if HYBE had used BTS’s money to pay off Scooter Braun’s debt during the Ithaca acquisition, sparking widespread negative public discourse and creating unnecessary misunderstandings about the relationship between BTS and their agency ahead of the group’s comeback.
Notably, beyond EMPIRE, ARMYs also identified several other foreign media outlets engaging in similar behavior by pulling BTS into related narratives. A prominent example is кσяєαboo, which wrote in an article titled “HYBE Accused Of Using BTS’s Money To Pay Off Scooter Braun’s Debt” that, “Since BTS was HYBE’s primary revenue driver during that period, critics argue that much of the money fueling the U.S. acquisition was earned through BTS’s activities.”
This style of reporting by EMPIRE and certain other outlets infuriated ARMYs. Part of the anger stemmed from the fact that the information was entirely inaccurate, unfounded, and based on speculation. Another reason was that BTS was being dragged into an unrelated controversy just ahead of their comeback, diverting public attention toward peripheral issues and dampening the promotional momentum surrounding the K-pop superstars. Even though many ARMYs may dislike HYBE’s management approach or have valid reasons to distrust Scooter Braun because of his past controversies, this is still not an issue that fans need to focus on right now.
Some fans also accused the outlets of “spreading this in a manipulated way,” pointing out that it was merely a tactic to generate clicks. As a result, ARMYs collectively called on fellow fans to remain vigilant, refrain from engaging with similar content, and instead focus on supporting BTS and their return. Several remarks from experienced ARMYs circulating around the issue included:
Other fans echoed these sentiments. One fan shared, “The author seems to have intentionally included a personal interpretation to prompt readers to react emotionally and spread it. I love how so many ARMY immediately recognized the tactic that has been used many times. Some may be fooled, but the core is not. Everything is going SO well so far with this comeback that we are starting to see the usual signs of desperation.”
Additional comments included: “And like clockwork everyone not reposting and all the Pop accts are spreading. If you come across it you will know… just roll your eyes, ignore it and continue the fantastically positive week we have been having!! It’s BTS year!”, “Pls when you see such flood it with comeback news. We are very busy”, and “It’s clear that someone is being paid to spread those rumors/unreliable info. We need to stay alert because it’s not just kpoppies—some shady journalists may also try to ruin our comeback.”
