Was that the anti-Scientology thing? I kinda thought that just took off because it was easy feel good activism that made edgy nerds feel important
IIRC many 4channers thought that and the other """"good""""" Anonymous stunts were deeply cringe and damaged their reputation as tough guys that call each other slurs while bullying kids into suicide and watching snuff videos on their cartoon image board
Yeah, it was, and yeah, they did. Given everything that has transpired since I’m coming around to the idea that it was an op. 4chan, without permanent identity or user reputation, was an ideal testbed for mass social manipulation on a scale unimaginable in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Chanology as a movement wasn’t very successful, but as a proof of concept it was incredible. To get more out of the next thing, they pushed the community to become more receptive to ideological messaging, then re-ran the experiment (gamergate). Gamergate was a huge success, and now we see the same tactics repeated over and over again across the internet. Take a vitriolic and alienated community, radicalize them, use their newfound ideology to make them pick up a cause and fight for it.
Was that the anti-Scientology thing? I kinda thought that just took off because it was easy feel good activism that made edgy nerds feel important
IIRC many 4channers thought that and the other """"good""""" Anonymous stunts were deeply cringe and damaged their reputation as tough guys that call each other slurs while bullying kids into suicide and watching snuff videos on their cartoon image board
Yeah, it was, and yeah, they did. Given everything that has transpired since I’m coming around to the idea that it was an op. 4chan, without permanent identity or user reputation, was an ideal testbed for mass social manipulation on a scale unimaginable in the 1960’s and 70’s.
Chanology as a movement wasn’t very successful, but as a proof of concept it was incredible. To get more out of the next thing, they pushed the community to become more receptive to ideological messaging, then re-ran the experiment (gamergate). Gamergate was a huge success, and now we see the same tactics repeated over and over again across the internet. Take a vitriolic and alienated community, radicalize them, use their newfound ideology to make them pick up a cause and fight for it.