The Beyhive is known for “stinging” celebrities who badmouth their queen Beyoncé, but now her fan club seems ready to become an international watchdog. Members of the Beyhive have been spreading information about reports of ethnic cleansing and mass murder in Ethiopia that no American news agency is covering at this time.

Beyoncé visited Ethiopia 10 years ago this month, performing for some 5,000 fans in the nation’s capital and saying, “You have been one of the best audiences of my lifetime.” Now 10 years later, Ethiopia is experiencing a tragedy. Dr. Awoke Assoma, a professor of anthropology in Ethiopia, reports that the majority ethnic group in Ethiopia has begun invading villages in the southern regions. “Lots of villages are burning in Kore [a minority ethnic group] and many people have lost lives; many others are injured. The Kore are now leaving from all the lowlands.” Assoma reports that the Oromo majority ethnic group are attempting to wipe out all non-Oromo groups in Southern Ethiopia and that at least two minority groups have been fighting the Oromo army for several days. This could mean hundreds if not thousands of deaths.

Despite this horrifying development, the Ethiopian government and news agencies have stayed silent. An east African news source reports that dozens of ethnic minorities have been murdered in their sleep in the town of Hawadaay, while BBC reports that "ethnic clashes" have displaced at least 30,000 people. Borkena reports that border controversy between the regions sparked this violence. Unfortunately, much of the media in Ethiopia is government-controlled. The calls for help are on social media, and so are the reports of genocide rather than clashes. An Ethiopian student at Arba Minch University posted on his Facebook page, “The Oromo people are ending the small people of Koah. Who can save us? The [regional] government of the small nation is crying out.” This is translated from the national language, Amharic. Another Ethiopian posted in English, “Let’s stand together to defend our homeland Amaro and stop genocide taking place by Gala(Oromo).”

Although very few news sources are covering the conflicts, and fewer are sharing Ethiopians’ reports of genocide, the Beyhive is on it. There are already many posts about the reported ethnic cleansing in several major Beyhive facebook groups, including “BEYHIVE” and “The Beygency,” which has nearly 130,000 members combined. I have posted on Beyhive pages about this conflict and I’ve received at least 100 responses. Beyhive members are expressing their frustration with media and condolences for Ethiopians in the comments. Vigilant Beyoncé fans and some Ethiopians have been liking and sharing a picture of Beyoncé in her controversial black panther-inspired Super Bowl outfit, with the words “Beyhive vs. Genocide."

Beyoncé became a symbol for anti-racism in the U.S. after becoming political during her promotion of her album Lemonade. Most recently, the super star shared a video meant to raise awareness about natural disasters world wide, opening by saying “it’s impossible to watch the news without seeing violence or racism in this country.” Beyoncé has not yet spoken on the issues in Ethiopia and may not be aware of the issues at this time. Fortunately for Ethiopians, the Beyhive didn’t need Beyoncé’s go-ahead or attention from major U.S. news agencies to start a conversation about the violence. Vedran Maric, an administrator for the massive group “BEYHIVE” comments on the news, “This is not CNN, this is BeyTV.”