In the vast expanse of the internet, where virtual communities thrive and digital subcultures flourish, few platforms have stirred as much intrigue and controversy as 4chan. Founded in 2003 by Christopher Poole, better known by his online moniker "moot," 4chan emerged as a breeding ground for anonymity, chaos, and creativity unlike anything seen before. 4chan is a simple image-based bulletin board where anyone can post comments and share images. There are boards dedicated to a variety of topics. Users do not need to register or form an account to participate in this community.
Founded in 2003, 4chan is the go-to website for anime enthusiasts. People discussed the Japanese culture, food, and language. However, it soon turned into a platform for anti-social maniacs to share their wildest dreams and forbidden desires. How are they able to do this? As mentioned above, users do not need to sign up and form an account. They remain anonymous. Anonymity has its own wide set of pros and cons. It allows sociopaths to threaten innocent people while hiding behind their screens. Simply put, this means users can do or say anything they want without risk. Since there is no form of accountability for what you have posted, Christopher Poole was 15 when he developed 4chan. His inspiration came from a Japanese website, ‘Futaba’. Futaba was unlike anything he’d seen before. It seemed like just another image board, but with the click of the refresh button, everything would be lost. Your history. So, you could do anything. 4chan is quite similar. Another reason why criminals confess to their crimes on 4chan is that nothing is permanent. Any board on 4chan can have only 160 threads. So if something new is posted, the older posts get deleted. If there are no comments on a particular post, it gets lost forever, whereas the active ones stay. Christopher calls it “survival of the fittest.”
Anonymity allows individuals to express themselves freely without fear of retaliation or judgement based on their identity. This can foster open and honest discourse on a vast range of topics, including sensitive or controversial issues, without the risk of social or professional repercussions. Anonymity is like a reset button. You can be whoever you want to be without facing judgement or retaliation. You could be the nerdy kid at school, but on 4chan, you could be a rebel. Anonymity also forms a level playing field where one can share their ideas without being discriminated against. While this sounds all sunshine-and-daisies, anonymity has cons too. Anonymity enables people to engage in cyberbullying and harassment. Anonymity makes it easier for malicious actors to spread false information, rumours, and propaganda without repercussions. This can lead to the spread of fake news, conspiracy theories, and manipulative propaganda. Without the accountability that comes with revealing one's identity, individuals may feel emboldened to act irresponsibly or engage in unethical behaviour online. It can complicate efforts to identify and prosecute offenders, as well as to enforce laws and regulations governing online behaviour. Unfortunately, this is 4chan.
Most boards on 4chan are harmless, like the /a/ board for anime and the /v/ board for video games. But then there is the /b/ board. The /b/ board is for random content. This was the first board to exist on 4chan. Even though 4chan practically has no rules, the /b/ board has few. But this was to prevent advertisers and spammers from flooding the website. In general, anything that isn’t against U.S. laws can be shared. This means that posting grotesque stuff that would otherwise ban you on other social media sites like Twitter or Instagram could be done here. All this is to promote the idea of ‘freedom of speech’. People should be able to express what they want, but our lives are built on some basic rules, and the board is notorious for not having them.
4chan stories
William J Lashua
Now 4chan isn’t all bad. 4chan is good and wholesome too. William Lashua was a World War II veteran living in Massachusetts. William was expecting a small celebration for his 90th birthday with just his family. A 4channer once saw an invitation for a Birthday Party. The name of the person was not mentioned but it had his picture and the details of where and when the event was going to be held. This person posted the invitation on 4chan’s /b/ and claimed that he knew him. He told everyone he was a WWII vet and encouraged them to send him cards and gifts. As his birthday neared, there were countless posts of cards and letters that were going to be sent to Mr. Lashua online. Some even decided to attend the party in person. As Mr. Lashua’s party gained the limelight, his grandson posted on Reddit. He thanked everybody for all the love and appreciation. He requested that people refrain from coming to the party unless they knew him. Rather, he encouraged them to keep sending the cards. The people on /b/ and Reddit agreed and did not bombard his party. On Mr. Lashua’s birthday, his family uploaded videos of them receiving hundreds of letters. His family members also said that they received calls from Japan, Ireland, England, and more. They were very grateful.
Animal Abuse
4chan draws the line with animal abuse. It is something 4chan can never tolerate.
In 2014, two teenage girls, Jennifer and Danielle,. The two girls were exploring a forest area when they stumbled upon a gopher tortoise. It is an extremely endangered species and Florida’s only tortoise species. The girls thought it was a good idea to take it back home and pet it. After a few days, the girls got tired of the tortoise and its mess. So, on July 15th, the girls recorded themselves drenching the poor tortoise in alcohol and setting fire using a lighter. All this while laughing maniacally and shouting phrases like “burn baby burn” and "Let's light his head on fire.” When the tortoise tried to hide in its shell, one of the girls picked it up, slammed it hard against the pavement, and then stomped on it. Not only did they kill a helpless being, but they also did it proudly. They posted it on social media, thinking they were cool. But they faced severe backlash, as they should. But the teens were pretty ignorant about it. This video soon found its way to /b/. The 4channers, too, were enraged. Thus, they commenced “Operation Shell Shock.” Finding their names was easy for 4chan. They then found out that they lived in a small town called Orange Park. Then, they compared the background scenes of the video they uploaded to Google Street Views. They found the exact street in a few moments! After this, they sent all their information on the girls to the local police and media. Jennifer served a little more than a month in jail. Danielle’s charges aren’t publicly known because she was a minor.
In 2009, a YouTube user under the name 'glennspam1' uploaded two videos of a masked man abusing his cat, Dusty. The abuser called himself 'Timmy'. When this video went viral on 4chan, they decided to take action. They found an account with the same username on an Asian website called Haiti Wow. They discovered his zip code and learned that he lived in Oklahoma. Finally, they stumbled upon the Facebook account of a teenager named Kenny Glenn. His bio matched the information they had on Timmy. Then they began comparing images from Kenny’s Facebook to the YouTube video. They found a few similarities: the same beige wall, drum set, green carpet, and wooden skirting. Law enforcement eventually got involved. Kenny and his brother, who too was suspected, were investigated. Dusty was examined by a veterinary doctor, and the police found a third video in which another cat was being abused.
Jaysh al-Izza
Would you believe me if I said 4chan once called an airstrike? It's the year 2016, and various rebel groups are trying to overthrow Syrian President Assad. One of these was the Jaysh al-Izza. A video of their training was uploaded online, which reached the 4chan board, the Syria General Board, where discussions about the Syrian Civil War were invited. The group Jaysh al-Izza was more than just a rebel group. They were known to have alliances with several terrorist groups, including Al-Qaeda. So, the 4channers thought it was important to get rid of them. They almost instantly put in efforts to make sure this video reached Ivan Sidorenko, who was known for calling airstrikes. Ivan was just a military vlogger who had contacts with the higher-ups in the Russian military. He would simply give them the coordinates, and they would do the rest. In a matter of hours, 4chan would find the coordinates of the Jaysh al-Izza training camp through Google Maps. They confirmed it by verifying the neighbouring passageways, buildings, and even trees. Soon enough, Ivan called in the airstrike by tweeting the coordinates to the official Russian Defence account. Ivan acknowledged 4chan and expressed his gratitude. 4channers were head over heels. But the story doesn't finish here. 2 months later, the same group uploaded a video of them training in their "hidden training centre.". Little did they know it wouldn't be hidden for long. Their training video showed a building with five spikes on the roof, five power grids, and two strange looking buildings arranged in a diagonal line. With great effort, 4chan succeeded in finding the exact location. They verified it over and over and finally sent it to Ivan. Ivan repeated the process, and they were successful.
Anonymous
/b/ is also known for the birth of the famous online hacker group Anonymous. Anonymous began as a group of trolls, which was no surprise because of its origin. They would prank call people and send them unpaid pizza. But things took a turn when they hacked Time magazine’s website. Every year, Time magazine opens a poll for people to vote for the ‘Person of the Year’. This person ends up on the cover of Time magazine. This individual was typically a high-profile figure, but in 2009, 4chan altered the votes to select Moot as the winner. The votes were unexplainably high for Moot, and that is when Time magazine caught on. They changed the voting system, but 4channers somehow hacked the poll again and managed to make Moot the #1 person overnight.
They repeated this in 2012 and made Kim Jong-un the Person of the Year. But this time, they manipulated the votes of other famous figures too. The first letters of the most influential people, taken in order, revealed a secret message that said ‘KJU gas chambers’.
Hoaxes
4chan has some inexplicable beef with pop icon Justin Bieber. In 2017, when Justin Bieber was a heartthrob and chart-buster, 4channers decided to go against him. They posted screenshots of a tweet created using a fake tweet generator to make it seem like it was posted by Entertainment Tonight. It read, “Pop star Justin Bieber was diagnosed with cancer this morning. Bieber fans are shaving their heads to show support. #BaldforBieber”. This post included images of people with their heads shaved, holding up signs saying ‘Bald for Bieber’. Below this was another fake comment posted by ‘Justin Bieber’ which showed Justin’s appreciation for his fans. This screenshot went viral in a matter of moments, with half of Twitter using this hashtag. There were innumerable posts with pictures of teens with their heads shaved. Adding fuel to the fire, 4channers created a fake account for a doctor. They uploaded a fake medical report confirming the fact that Justin Bieber had leukemia. This had the internet going crazy.
Another hoax that 4chan started was also related to Justin Bieber. TMZ released pictures of Justin smoking in 2013. These pictures went viral on all social media because of Justin’s enormous fan base. 4chan decided to take advantage of the situation. They faked a protest where they flooded Twitter with images of teens cutting their wrists in retaliation for Bieber’s actions. Hence, perhaps one of the most dangerous hoaxes of all time—#cuttingforbieber. This incited teenagers to sever their wrists in an attempt to awaken Justin. Remarkably, a large proportion of them took part.
Jessi Slaughter
In 2010, a user of the Sticky Drama website claimed that Jessica Leonhardt, also known by her stage name, Jessi Slaughter, was in an illegal relationship with Dahvi Vanity, a member of the band ‘Blood on the Dancefloor’. 11-year-old Jessi responded to these accusations on her YouTube channel. But she responded with way too much profanity, and this angered 4channers. They ruthlessly leaked her phone number, address, and Twitter account. They even called the police and told them she was self-harming. This was just the beginning of the end. A few weeks later, Jessi uploaded a video weeping; she shared that they had ruined her life. While she was discussing what they did to her, her father came into the frame and shouted manically. He threatened to find those 4channers, telling them, “Consequences will never be the same.” They reported all about this to the cyber police. Her father’s speech fueled the 4chan trolls even more. This caught the attention of the news and the media. So, instead of this controversy just dying out, it just worsened. The media antagonised the 4channers in vain. A year later, it was found out that Jessi’s father abused her. Following a report from their neighbours, he was taken into custody. Jessi’s mom was found to be a drug addict. To this, she responded, “I’m in foster care now.” Honestly, this was expected of her parents, as they never even knew Jessi was active on YouTube. They didn’t know how to respond to a bunch of 30-year-old men hiding behind their computers. They never even attempted to get Jessi off social media. Months later, it was found that Dahvi Vanity had sexually assaulted her. She was not the only one; there were numerous other girls too. The most shocking part was that all of them were aged 10–12. As of 2017, Jessi has been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Did Jessi have all this coming? Yes. But did she deserve this immense hate? No. Yes, Jessi was a brat and made some stupid decisions when she was young, but we’re all humans, and we all make mistakes. Jessi’s story is regretful to listen to. The 4channers were the main culprits, but the media, her parents, and Dahvi didn’t make it easier for her either. In fact, a 4channer texted Jessi’s mom, threatening her to get Jessi off all social media, or “Consequences will never ever be good,” and he’d make their lives like hell again.
Bianca Devins
Bianca was a 17-year-old girl living in Utica, New York. She had anxiety and found it difficult to make friends. Insecure Bianca then became active on 4chan. Especially the /b/ board and the fashion board /fa/. She also engaged in conversations with strangers on Discord. Being a young, pretty girl on a male-dominated website gained her many followers. One orbiter among them, who she thought was her friend, was Brandon Clark. Bianca’s online friend, Claire, shared that Bianca and she bonded over their experiences with older abusive men. They both had been active on 4chan and attracted an unhealthy number of men. They would give them the validation and attention they sought. But when they shared news of them having a boyfriend, these men would post intimate images of them and leak their chats. So these incels retaliated when things didn’t go their way. Brandon invited Bianca to a concert. Bianca’s mom met Brandon and thought he was an average man. At the concert, Bianca met another friend, Alex. Bianca seemed more interested in Alex than Brandon. When Brandon saw Bianca share a kiss with Alex, he was infuriated. He was going to drive her back home. On the way, he raped her and slit her throat, thereby killing her. He took pictures of her lying dead and uploaded them on Discord, telling people she deserved that. He even put images on his Instagram story and sent these pictures to her family! And not just pictures; he sent them a video of him committing the crime! He then called 911 and told them about the murder. When the police arrived, they found his laptop burning and him about to commit suicide. Now the police caught him in time, and he’s been sentenced to 25 years in prison. It’s impossible to imagine what must’ve been there on his laptop for him to burn it. After her death, some people on 4chan praised him. There were rumours that Bianca bought drugs from these orbiters. Even if it was true, she did not deserve it! Her family says that, to this day, their inboxes get spammed with images of her lying dead on the ground.
David Kalac
In 2014, on November 4, somebody posted on 4chan, “Turns out its way harder to strangle somebody in real life than it is in the movies.” “She fought so hard.” “Check the news for Port Orchard, Washington, in a few hours. Her son will be home from school soon. He’ll find her, then call the cops. I just wanted to share the pictures before they find me. I bought a BB gun that looks realistic enough. I understand the doubts. Just check the news. I have to lose my phone now.” This was posted on a board on 4chan dedicated to celebrity images and ex-girlfriend posts. This was David Kalac. He murdered 30-year-old Amber Coplin out of vengeance and testified that he was drunk. David anticipated that after strangling Amber, her son would come back home and report the police. They would find him with a BB gun and shoot him in defence. Her 13-year-old son did find her body after coming back. He thought she was sleeping, but when she didn’t respond, he got anxious and called his father. His father called 911, but she was beyond saving. The police found three messages left by the killer. "Dead," she scribbled on her driver’s licence. “She killed me first” on a picture hung on the wall and “bad news” on the curtains. In 2017, 35-year-old David Kalac was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to prison for 82 years.
4chan isn’t crazy. 4chan is a glimpse of what a truly free internet looks like. People cannot exist in a totally free world because they lack self-control and live with destructive/self-destructive tendencies. People hate being ruled, but the alternative is even worse: full chaos. If anything, 4chan has shown the world two things.
- Not everything you read or see online should be taken too seriously.
- Watch out for the websites you visit and the people you interact with there.
However, it would be unfair to solely blame 4chan for all these disasters. Sociopaths are present everywhere; 4chan is just a forum for these people to express their inhumane tendencies. In fact, in some cases, 4chan has helped bring justice. While it has garnered notoriety for its controversial content and the anonymity it affords its users, it also serves as a dynamic hub of creativity, innovation, and cultural exchange. Despite the challenges it poses in terms of online safety, accountability, and the spread of misinformation, 4chan remains an influential force in shaping internet culture and driving conversations on a global scale. As society continues to grapple with the implications of online anonymity and the role of digital platforms in shaping discourse, understanding the complexities of 4chan is essential for navigating the ever-evolving landscape of the internet in the 21st century.
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