Ebola-chan: a jokey cartoon “mascot” for Ebola that, in the hands of some particularly unprincipled 4chan users, became a hoax directed at vulnerable West Africans.Needless to say, that’s one of many 4chan news hoaxes. Apple Wave: an alleged “feature” of the iPhone 6, hyped by 4chan users on Twitter, wherein people can charge their phones by microwaving them.Bikini bridge: an invented beauty/fitness trend that encouraged women to lose enough weight to create a gap between the bones of their hip and pelvis the trend, though fake, eventually caught on in online eating-disorder communities.
The cyberbullying of Jessi Slaughter: one of the earliest high-profile incidents of cyberbullying, in which 4chan members sent death threats and calls to an 11-year-old girl who would later make multiple suicide attempts.Gamergate has since wrecked the lives of several female gamers and commentators and spawned a larger discussion about the way that industry treats women. Gamergate: an ongoing movement to expose “corruption” in video game journalism, which was (purportedly!) drummed up by 4chan users.Celebgate: the leak of dozens of stolen celebrity nude photos, which - while no longer available on 4chan - still exist as downloadable torrents across the Web.