Hawker of hate opens gateway to ‘darkest reaches of the internet’
At least three mass shootings have been promoted or prompted by content on 8chan, an anonymous online messaging forum that promotes itself as a gateway to ‘the darkest reaches of the internet’ — so why is it so easy to access?
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It’s possible to encounter almost every kind of hate on 8chan, the anonymous online messaging forum notorious for its white nationalist and neo-Nazi user base.
The website promotes itself as a gateway to “the darkest reaches of the internet”, and the result is conversations that almost uniformly descend into hateful, bilious attacks on three recurring targets: Jews, Muslims and women. Bomb-making instructions and video links to mass shootings are also standard.
But arguably the website’s most radioactive content is what it exports to the real world: Violent white nationalism.
At least three mass shootings have been promoted or prompted by content on the website in the past six months: In March at a mosque in Christchurch, in April at a synagogue in California and earlier this month at a Walmart in Texas.
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In each case the gunmen posted lengthy screeds or open letters onto the forum in the lead-up to the shootings. Some were cheered on by other users as the massacres were broadcast live on Facebook.
Google currently blocks the 8chan web address from standard search results and its webhost, Cloudfare, has removed the site from its servers.
But it is unlikely these measures will stop 8chan’s users from seeking a solution or spawning a replacement. For now, the site is accessible.
Its facade is deliberately unsophisticated, its forums text-based and low-quality.
Unlike Facebook or other social networks, 8chan’s users are able to post messages anonymously and almost totally unchecked.
The website’s owner, a former US soldier named Jim Watkins, is currently under investigation in the Philippines specifically for this reason.
Police there have opened an investigation into whether Mr Watkins, who lives there, and others were negligent in their moderation of 8chan’s content.
The site’s creator Fredrick Brennan, another resident of the Philippines, also remains under investigation and recently called for the website to be shut down.
“It’s not doing the world any good,” he said. “It’s a complete negative to everybody except the users that are there.
“And you know what? It’s a negative to them, too. They just don’t realise it.”
Originally published as Hawker of hate opens gateway to ‘darkest reaches of the internet’
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