K-pop group BTS has refuted accusations that their fans, known as ARMY, had manipulated the Billboard chart.

Recently, fans of artists like Olivia Rodrigo and Dua Lipa claimed that ARMY used mass buying to manipulate the charts while “Butter” and “Permission to Dance” were topping the Hot 100 chart this summer.

When Billboard asked the seven-member group about topping the singles chart despite weaker streaming and radio airplay than other artists, group leader RM began by saying it's a fair question.

He then went on to say that if there is talk about what being No. 1 should represent, then it should be up to Billboard to change the rules and make streaming weigh more in rankings than physical purchases.

RM said it's not right to slam the group or its fans for topping the chart with physical sales and downloads, adding they feel like easy targets because they are a K-pop band with high fan loyalty.

Shin Young-jae, the president of Big Hit Music, a subsidiary of BTS' management agency HYBE, said that he does not believe the U.S. market is one that can be easily topped by downloads alone, adding that the songs' impacts were shown in many ways.