Mid-Day

The hashtag #cutforbieber began to trend on the site as dozens of gory images were posted by fans to the singer to appeal to him not to take drugs.

Photos emerged over the weekend of the teen idol which allegedly showed him smoking marijuana. One user posted a picture which appeared to show self-inflicted bleeding cuts to her arm and said: “you stop using drugs and we'll stop cutting”.

Another 15-year-old female user who posted a graphic image messaged the singer directly, saying: “@justinbieber Sorry if I scared you honey, it’s just that I would do anything for you” shortly after posting the picture.

She later claimed Twitter had contacted her directly to check up on her well being. However, it appears the trend may have been started as a joke — despite this other users noticed a worrying amount of graphic pictures appearing on the website.

Some of the images fans uploaded were old pictures taken from self-harm websites. However, there is still concern as to the influence the trend could have on vulnerable young fans of the singer.

A vast majority of Twitter users were quick to express their disgust. One said: “Cutting is not something to joke about. There are people who are actually suffering from self-harm, this is so disrespectful. “