Posts circulating online claim that the infamous internet message board 4chan was recently hacked, with some claiming that the hacker exposed the site's moderators' personal information.
U GOT HACKED” Message Surfaces
According to Wired magazine, the purported breach was first discovered when a part of the website that had been inactive suddenly came back to life with the words "U GOT HACKED" displayed across the top.
According to Alon Gal, co-founder of the Israeli piracy monitoring firm Hudson Rock, who cited screenshots that have been making the rounds, which claimed to reveal 4chan's backend technology. An anonymous 4chan administrator stated that the site was only sporadically accessible on Tuesday and that they had no excuse to question the legitimacy of the screenshots. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the incident's specifics or identify the potential hacker.
4chan’s Controversial Legacy and Response
Originally popularized on 4chan, memes such as Pepe the Frog, rage comics, and wojaks have spread throughout the internet. However, 4chan's political committees, where alt-right discourse has the power to incite young members to embrace white nationalist views, are its most enduring legacy. 4chan is the birthplace of QAnon, a community of far-right conspirators that support President Donald Trump.
4chan's press email did not respond to messages. Using their 4chan email address, one of the two dozen administrators who were allegedly exposed in the attack responded saying the website has published a "video statement." The user then directed Reuters to a four-minute video montage that was irrelevant and obscene. A link to another video with related content was provided after a request for more details.
