IU Fandom Charity Mobilization — Anggeline Chew - Social Media, Communities, & Networks Conference 2026: Semester 1 & SP1

IU Fandom Charity Mobilization — Anggeline Chew

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24/04/2026

This presentation examines IU fandom charity mobilisation as a case study of fan culture. Inspired by IU’s philanthropy, her fans organise online donation campaigns through social media platforms like X, especially during birthdays, anniversaries, and year-end events. Using the concepts of visibility, spreadability, and searchability, the presentation shows how fans share charity posts, coordinate donations, and track participation through hashtags, reposts, and interactions. These social media affordances enable fans to form networked communities and mobilise collective action. Therefore, IU fandom demonstrates that fan culture extends beyond entertainment to community building and meaningful civic participation.

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One response to “IU Fandom Charity Mobilization — Anggeline Chew”

chellybean

30/04/2026

Hey Anggeline I have a few questions for you!

1. I like how you explained visibility especially the example of donation posts making participation more public and encouraging others to join. How do you think this visibility within fandom or what we call ‘networked publics’ might also create pressure for fans to participate in charity campaigns? Could the public nature of these posts make some fans feel obligated to contribute rather than purely motivated by IU’s influence?

2. I think your point about spreadability was really strong especially when you mentioned how fans translate posts and actively help campaigns reach international audiences that truly shows a deeper level of participation. I wanted to know to what extent do you think the affordances of platforms like X actually help shape fan behaviour here? Do fans act this way because of IU’s influence or because the platform makes it so easy to repost and amplify content?

3. You mentioned how searchability and how hashtags like IU or 12YearsWithIU help organize content, it made the coordination aspect very easy to understand. Do you think searchability only helps with short term campaigns or does it also contribute to building long term fandom identity and memory? Can these searchable archives strengthen the fandom as a lasting public beyond individual events?

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Social Media, Communities, & Networks Conference 2026: Semester 1 & SP1