Concern is mounting over a Twitter campaign by people who claim to be fans of Canadian pop star Justin Bieber, called #cutforbieber.

Some of the singer’s young fans, or “beliebers,” are apparently taking drastic measures in an effort to get Bieber to change his ways.

Photos of fans apparently cutting their wrists have been doing the rounds on Twitter, with fans saying they’re not going to stop unless their idol promises not to do drugs. This follows recent reports and photographs of the 18-year-old allegedly smoking a joint.

Complex.com has since revealed that the Twitter campaign was started as a joke by pranksters.

It originated on the notorious internet message board, 4chan, after a user posted: “Lets start a cut yourself for bieber campaign. Tweet a bunch of pics of people cutting themselves and claim we did it because bieber was smoking weed. See if we can get some little girls to cut themselves”(sic).

The hash tag #cutforbieber has been trending worldwide.

It’s not clear how many of the Twitter accounts and photos of people harming themselves are legitimate, but it has sparked massive debate as well as an angry response from many people.

@realabrahamlim tweeted: “I am sick to my stomach by the trend #cutforbieber. True fans would NEVER harm themselves to prove a point to the artist in question.”

Many people have meanwhile posted parody photos of themselves cutting pieces of paper, the grass, an apple and their hair – using the hastag #cutforbieber.

This has also promoted an angry response from some users.

@OfficialCANCER tweeted: “#cutforbieber? Cutting is NOT something to joke about. There are people who are actually suffering from self-harm, this is so disrespectful”.

A few months ago, internet trolls started a rumour that Bieber had cancer, and urged fans to shave their hair in solidarity with him.

Article via East Coast Radio