Mnet Releases Statement Addressing Allegations Of Voting Being Rigged For The 2022 MAMA Awards

The end of the year signals the start of award season, and one of the biggest is the 2022 MAMA Awards. The only award to be fully decided by fans is the 2022 MAMA Worldwide Fans’ Choice, which recently came under fire after evidence of “rigged votes.”

Recently, Mnet addressed allegations of voting being rigged for the award.

While looking at the voting patterns, netizens noticed irregularities within the voting. While some of the biggest groups had consistent patterns…

There seemed to be a different pattern for some of the artists, seeing huge jumps in votes in the same period of time. It raised concerns that there might be some votes being rigged in certain ways.

Yet, on November 4 (KST), Mnet released a statement regarding the accusations on the 2022 MAMA Awards voting page.

In the statement, Mnet explained that the voting system was done through a verified system, with steps being taken to ensure that all voting was done fairly, including being able to see the results in real time.

The “2022 MAMA AWARDS” voting currently being held by Mnet Plus is being thoroughly verified step by step to ensure that a transparent and fair voting takes place throughout the entire
process from joining membership to opening and closing of voting.

The entire voting process discloses the total number of votes and the percentage of votes per artist in real time so that all global K-POP fans can see it.

— Mnet

Yet, it was the next part of the statement that made it seem possible that some sort of “rigging” might have been occurring, but not due to Mnet. The company revealed that when the results are being monitored and data is seen as “Fraudulent,” then it would be excluded from the final results.

In addition, data identified as fraudulent voting during the monitoring process will be excluded from the final aggregation.

— Mnet

The statement ended by explaining that the awards are meant to be for fans to get their voices heard and that they hope fans will cooperate to make things fair.

We ask for your cooperation in creating a proper voting culture so that the voices of K-POP artists and global K-POP fans who support these artists can be reflected honestly in the voting process.

— Mnet

While the voting ranks have seemingly stayed the same following the announcement, it may be that the results of the monitoring are released as the voting closes.

The statement didn’t directly mention the groups that are being addressed or whether they have noticed anything. Rather Mnet seemed to respond to the allegations and concerns from netizens.

You can read about the initial story below.

2022 MAMA Awards Under Fire After Alleged Evidence Of Voting Being Rigged