4chan was hacked—and disinfo is everywhere

This week, 4chan, the infamous imageboard known for its virulent antisemitism and breeding ground for internet memes, was hacked. The site is currently down, but internal data from the hack has slowly begun to emerge.

The hack drew headlines, with many people speculating about what kind of information had been stolen. A list of volunteers and moderators, along with their email addresses, was posted on a rival imageboard, providing a glimpse into who was behind 4chan's operations.

However, the most intriguing claim circulating online is that the hack exposed a list of paid subscribers to the site, revealing that top posters were all from Israel. A screenshot of this data was shared on social media, claiming to show that 4chan was actually a psy-op by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) designed to stir up hate towards Jewish people.

The claim was met with widespread skepticism, and a review of the data by the Daily Dot revealed that while there were some .edu emails among the moderators' contact information, none came from a .gov account. This suggests that the list may not be entirely accurate or reliable.

But what if it were true? If 4chan did indeed have a large Israeli user base, particularly in its controversial /pol/ forum, why would this prove anything about the site's intentions? The answer lies in the world of conspiracy theories and online disinformation. According to antisemites, evidence of antisemitism on 4chan is proof that the site is actually a Jewish psyop designed to stir up hatred towards Muslims and Jews alike.

This is a classic tactic used by antisemites to discredit legitimate criticism of their ideology. By spreading false information and conspiracy theories online, they aim to confuse and mislead people into accepting their own prejudices as fact. In this case, the claim that 4chan is a Jewish psyop has been circulating on social media for some time, but the recent hack provided new fuel for the fire.

However, it's worth noting that the post claiming to show the hacked data was itself likely fabricated. The Daily Dot could not track down the specific screenshot being shared, and users on 4chan often pull that data into posts and share the numbers. This suggests that the image of Israel at the top of the list is likely a photoshop edit designed to make it appear as though the site has an unusually high number of Israeli users.

Despite the lack of concrete evidence, the claim that 4chan was hacked continues to spread online. But what does this say about the state of internet discourse today? Can we trust the information we see online, or is it always subject to manipulation and disinformation?