Over the past few days, fans of BTS and BLACKPINK have been trying to figure out if the recently surfaced pictures of V and Jennie together are real or edited. The photos have been posted by the same account that was created only this month, and the only posts they have made are the pictures of the two idols together. So, it is understandable that fans are not entirely convinced of their legitimacy or the intent behind leaking these pictures.

While many theories are circulating on social media, a Twitter user now claims that the account’s owner has edited all of the pictures they have posted. In a long thread, this user who goes by the name of ‘Neon’ explained that they reached out to the account through email, posing as a customer who wanted to get edited pictures of two other public figures in exchange for money.

According to ‘Neon,’ the account owner got back to them asking which celebrities they wanted to be edited and also informed them that the job would cost more than a three-digit sum in USD.

Neon: HERE'S THE SCREENRECORDING OF THE EMAILS. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE DON'T CONTACT ME ON MY MAIL ADDRESS. I tried to keep pretending with a last email but then never replied

Some fans also noticed that this account used bot accounts to retweet the pictures to gain more traction, which also has made the genuineness of the photographs questionable. Others have pointed out the discrepancies in the pictures’ quality that might seem suspicious.

@taeteees: Their first post had zero likes but thousands of bots retweeting I was one of the few ones who saw the post before it became viral, if these pics were real why would anyone need to use bots for engagements???

Some are speculating that the account has superimposed the idols’ faces on other people’s bodies, or they somehow got their hands on private pictures from both the idols and just merged them together. There are also people who believe these are real pictures attained through illegal means. Regardless of the legitimacy of the photos, fans are rightfully concerned about the safety and privacy of both Jennie and V. If the allegations about the account owner are true, we might be looking at a severe case of defamation or invasion of privacy.

The labels of both the idols are yet to make a statement on this, though fans are increasing the pressure on them to speak out and protect them both from these malicious attacks.