More than 1 million people watched the U.N. General Assembly online, BTS effect

INA - BAGHDAD 

More than 1 million people tuned in to what felt like the hottest event on the Internet on Monday: A speech at the United Nations General Assembly meeting; that is, a speech by the K-pop superstar boy band BTS.

The U.N. General Assembly meeting is typically attended by policymakers and politicians and is not generally known for attracting widespread interest. While high-profile celebrities often appear to give speeches, the attention driven by BTS was uniquely intense.

Legions of BTS fans, a hyper-organized online community that can mobilize in an instant, flooded the United Nations’ official YouTube channel Monday with their signature purple heart emoji, along with tons of crying emoji, thumbs-up emoji and every other heart emoji available as the band promoted their generation and encouraged the use of vaccines. 

More than 980,000 viewers were tuned in there, and tens of thousands of others viewed on other YouTube channels and platforms.

They took over the chat so fiercely during the K-pop icons’ speech and video performance that other users chimed in to remind them to be respectful of the meeting of global leaders, who had gathered to discuss sustainability.

But the BTS army plowed forward, amplifying the band’s message of hope and the power of those in their teens and 20s to shape the future, from climate change to digital interconnectedness.