Are Facebook and YouTube ‘online gangsters’ corrupting the youth of Vietnam?
- A new breed of social media influencers in the country are raking in big bucks with videos showing them living large, destroying property and swearing
- The phenomenon has sparked concerns that children will emulate the loutish behaviour, which seems to have already happened in some cases
“Let me tell you something. In this society, there is no f*****g right or wrong. There are only the weak and the strong. That’s it. And you guys beat my brother, so I’m gonna beat you,” Kha Banh shouts at his opponents in one of his viral videos.
As soon as the tirade finishes, he puts up a hand – signalling a bunch of his bat-wielding henchmen to launch forward and attack.
The scene ends with Kha Banh triumphantly walking away from the fight with his rescued “brother” under his arm – a gambler who had failed to pay back a debt, and then asked for Banh’s protection from a loan shark.
As they walk away, text appears on screen explaining that the clip “reflects brotherhood”, with viewers advised not to gamble lest they disappoint their loved ones.
It’s a somewhat ironic proclamation, given that Kha Banh – real name Nguyen Ba Kha – was detained by police in his home province of Bac Ninh, Northern Vietnam, on April 2 on suspicion of gambling and drugs offences.
Vietnamese media reported the following day that the 26-year-old’s YouTube channel had been shut down. At the time of deactivation, his channel had more than 400 videos, 2 million subscribers, and was the 57th most subscribed channel in Vietnam. Many of his videos have since been re-uploaded to YouTube by other users.