4chan

4chan is an internet board that was founded by moot (Christopher Poole) on October 1, 2003. They are most known for creating internet subcultures, internet memes, and internet attacks.

4chan's Logo

Background Information

4chan launched on October 1, 2003 and it's forum boards were intended to post pictures and discussion of anime and manga. Submissions to the boards were typically from anonymous users. The random board also known as "/b/" is 4chan's most popular and notorious section. There are minimal rules and popular internet memes such as rickrolling, pedobear and lolcats were formed and popularized here.

"moot"

Controversy

4chan users have been the source of numerous controversial internet attacks as well as real world attacks. They are known for pulling off some of the highest profile collective actions and attacks on since the history of the internet.

Hal Turner

Between December 2006 and January 2007, 4chan collectively attacked Hal Turner's website and prank called his radio show. This caused Hal Turner's website to go down and creating thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Sarah Palin Email Hacking

In 2008, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin was the target of an attack by 4chan user David Kernell. Palin's email account was hacked into resulting in the leaking of Palin's private emails.

Steve Jobs Heart Attack

In October of 2008, a hoax story was submitted to iReport.com claimed that the CEO of Apple Inc (Steve Jobs) had suffered a heart attack resulting in a significant drop in stock price of Apple Inc.