July 31, 2018 ▸ Technology

Episode 319: 4Chan: Home of Hackers, Memes, and Web Warriors

On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we discuss one of the most important websites in the world, even though you may have never heard of it or visited it—the notorious 4Chan. 4Chan is the birthplace of memes, the meeting ground for Anonymous, the bastion of the Alt-Right and the far left, and the sometimes cruel often hilarious vigilantes of the World Wide Web.

So what exactly is 4Chan? Well, the simple answer is that it’s a imageboard started by a 15 year old in 2003, a place where people anonymously post comments and photos (originally of anime, often of sexual, humorous, and shocking images).

The complex answer is that it’s where some of the greatest hacktivists in the world rub elbows and spread their ideas, code, technology, and plans to thwart the mainstream establishment. It’s sort of like the one place where the Dark Net rubs up against the Internet. The hacker group Anonymous is said to have spawned from the ranks of 4Chan, and some of the most viral memes of all time are born there. Ever been Rick Rolled? Thanks, 4Chan? Did you laugh and Chocolate Rain? Thanks, 4Chan. Ever run into Pedobear? Thanks, 4Chan.

Its founder Christopher Poole (aka “moot”) sold 4Chan, and at times it has been in financial trouble, but it continues to do what it does. What does it do? It hacked online polls and sent the rapper Pitbull to Alaska and made Taylor Swift perform a concert at a deaf school. It hacked Time Magazine’s most influential person poll. Twice. It busts criminals who post illegal or immoral photos. It has even found murderers. But it also is a breeding ground of extreme political hate at times, and it even tries to bring down the Church of Scientology.

Love them or hate them (spoiler alert—we love them!), the radical, radically different, funny, edgy, misanthropic, brilliant members of the 4Chan community are a force to be reckoned with.

4Chan Summary: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/09/25/absolutely-everything-you-need-to-know-to-understand-4chan-the-internets-own-bogeyman/?utm_term=.84b6fedcc674

Rolling Stone Alt Right: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/the-measure-of-hate-on-4chan-627922/