BIGHIT MUSIC issues a direct warning
BIGHIT MUSIC has directly addressed alleged sexually explicit deepfake images of TOMORROW X TOGETHER's Soobin, saying it is collecting evidence and will pursue legal action without settlement or leniency. The statement, shared via Weverse and reported by Koreaboo on 22 October, is a direct public response after fans and online users had spent time demanding one.
The company said it had identified the indiscriminate spread of false information and malicious rumours targeting its artist across social media and online communities. It said it had been taking internal measures but had refrained from public announcements to avoid amplifying false rumours. It added that malicious attacks had reached a critical level ahead of the artist's forthcoming comeback.
That explanation matters. K-pop companies often face a trade-off between silence and drawing more attention to a damaging claim. BIGHIT MUSIC is now saying the calculation has changed: the spread, rather than the statement itself, is the greater risk. The statement does not identify specific accounts, platforms or a timetable for legal steps.
What the company says it will do
BIGHIT MUSIC described posting and spreading malicious content as a criminal act that gravely violates the artist's rights and damages reputation. It said evidence is being collected across domestic and international platforms. It repeated that it will take firm legal action against those responsible, with no settlement or leniency.
The company also pointed fans toward HYBE's Artist Rights Violation Report System and asked them to report reckless rumours, false information and illegal posts. It framed the request as part of a zero-tolerance approach to unlawful acts that infringe artists' rights.
The practical significance is in the combination: a public warning, an evidence-gathering process and a reporting channel. A statement alone does not remove content or identify every poster. But it can establish that the company is treating the material as a rights violation rather than a fringe fan dispute, and it gives readers a clear route for reports.
Why the silence had become a story
Koreaboo reported that fans had demanded a statement for some time, with anger growing as issues linked to the fakes continued to spread. The source describes the company's earlier lack of a direct public comment as a source of frustration.
That pressure is part of the story because it shows how quickly a company's communications strategy becomes part of the controversy. When fans believe an artist is being targeted, a delayed response can be read as inaction even if internal work is under way. The company's statement acknowledges that perception indirectly by explaining why it had held back.
It does not follow that a statement is always the right first move. Companies have legitimate reasons to avoid giving a rumour more oxygen. The useful question is what threshold triggers a public response, and whether that threshold is communicated clearly enough for fans to understand what is happening.
The comeback context
BIGHIT MUSIC tied the escalation to the period ahead of a comeback. That timing is familiar in K-pop: release cycles bring more attention, more search traffic and more opportunities for malicious material to travel. A comeback also puts the artist's public profile back at the centre of platform algorithms.
The statement does not give a date or title for the comeback. It does, however, make clear that the company sees the coming period as a reason to act more visibly. That is a communications decision as much as a legal one. It tells fans that the company is not waiting for the cycle to pass.
For readers, the distinction is important. The news is not that a comeback has been announced in this statement; the news is that the company says the protection issue has reached a critical point before one. The focus remains the alleged deepfakes and the company's response, not a promotional angle.
Deepfakes are not ordinary gossip
Sexually explicit deepfakes are a form of image-based abuse. They can cause reputational and personal harm even when the images are fabricated, and the harm can intensify when they circulate across platforms and languages. The alleged material involving Soobin is exactly the kind of content that companies and platforms are under pressure to treat seriously.
Legal responses vary by jurisdiction, and a company statement cannot guarantee a prosecution or a swift removal. But the language BIGHIT MUSIC uses — criminal act, evidence collection, no leniency — signals that it intends to pursue the issue through legal channels rather than dismiss it as online noise.
This is also where fan behaviour matters. Sharing a post to express outrage can widen its reach. Reporting, documenting and refusing to redistribute the material are more useful responses if the goal is to limit harm. That is not a comment on anyone's motives; it is a practical point about how platform distribution works.
What a reporting system can do
HYBE's Artist Rights Violation Report System gives fans a formal channel. Reports can help a company build a record of accounts, posts and platforms, which may be useful if legal action follows. They can also help a company prioritise which content to pursue first.
The system is not a magic switch. It does not guarantee that every post disappears, and it does not replace platform moderation or law enforcement. Nor does the statement promise a specific outcome. It promises a stance: that reports will be treated as part of a zero-tolerance policy.
The more useful reader question is not whether a report will produce an instant result, but whether the channel is clear enough for people to use without amplifying the material. BIGHIT MUSIC's statement is notable for naming the system and asking fans to use it, rather than simply asking them to stay quiet.
The takeaway
BIGHIT MUSIC has moved from internal measures to a public legal warning over alleged deepfakes targeting TXT's Soobin. The statement is firm on intent, but it does not supply a timeline, name platforms or detail the evidence. Its significance lies in the company's decision to speak before a comeback and to frame the material as a criminal rights violation.
For fans, the practical takeaway is to avoid spreading the images and to use the reporting channel if they encounter them. For the wider K-pop audience, the story is a reminder that deepfake abuse is not a niche internet problem; it is a rights issue that companies are now addressing in public.
The next test will be whether the stated legal action produces visible follow-through. Until then, the statement is a commitment, not a conclusion.
