TXT's Weverse Live Reads as a Quiet Reply to Soobin Deepfake Rumors

TXT members Yeonjun, Taehyun and Huening Kai hosted a Weverse livestream with fans, and one exchange from the broadcast is being read as a veiled response to the alleged deepfake controversy surrounding their bandmate Soobin, Koreaboo reports.

On its face, the exchange followed a conversation about rumors tied to an upcoming unit song. Many fans took the remarks as an indirect answer to what Soobin has been facing. Some believe BIGHIT MUSIC may be keeping the members from discussing it openly, which would leave them to reassure MOA in subtler ways.

The rumors began circulating on Chinese social media on October 19, claiming Soobin had used a gay dating app for a casual relationship. Photos that purported to show him with an unidentified man, some of them sexually explicit, spread alongside the claims.

Fans have insisted the images are AI deepfakes made to damage the idol's image. The influencer who allegedly posted them said they were screenshots pulled from a video and suggested it was not an isolated incident.

BIGHIT MUSIC responded on October 22, condemning the "false information and malicious rumors" aimed at its artist and promising firm legal action "with no settlement or leniency." The agency said in its statement that it had held back at first so an official response would not spread the rumors further, but that the attacks had become severe as the group's comeback approached.

The label said it is gathering evidence on platforms at home and abroad, and it asked fans to flag malicious content through the "HYBE Artist Rights Violation Report System."

The timing sits close to the group's release cycle. TXT's comeback with PERFECT STORM was announced in late September, and BIGHIT MUSIC posted the album's release schedule on October 21, two days after the claims first surfaced and one day before its statement.