There was a sense of irony when the strongly anti-NSA, pro-privacy users of the social network Reddit began gloating over the privacy-destroying leak of celebrity nude photos. Privacy, it seemed, only applied to Reddit users — for celebrities, no such luck. But now there's a starker example of the double standard: the Reddit user responsible for bringing the hacked photos into the public eye has decried an invasion of his privacy by the media.

"Johnsmcjohn" started TheFappening

Reddit user "Johnsmcjohn" started TheFappening, a (now closed) forum that became the go-to repository for viewing photos leaked from celebrities' phones. Although it doesn't appear he took part directly in the hack, he did perhaps do more than any single person to make the photos widely available. And as part of an "Ask Me Anything" Q&A on Reddit, he complained that a Washington Post story profiling (but not directly naming) him contained unnecessary personal information. "Why is my being on an asexuality website or an Aspergers board relevant to my work on /r/TheFappening?" he wrote. "I decided Thursday that I wouldn't delete my account and if the press wants to send me thru the ringer, so be it. I won't be bullied into silence."

Johnsmcjohn, an active user of Reddit's cocaine forum who the Post noted had difficulty paying bills, also had this to say: "I don't like it, but so be it. The Nixon Administration couldn't stop the WP, so I didn't try to stop them. Also, I paid my gas bill in case anyone cares."