Hacktivism with a virtual mask, ‘4chan’ and the power of ‘Anonymous’

(n.b. need to host this somewhere for my dissertation, and it is a cultural review in most senses, so why no SATF) love, sean


Rationale/ Context
‘4chan’ is arguably one of the last remaining democratic zones on the internet. The site is made up of different picture/ message boards, discussing different topics such as art, film and technology from a generally Japanese origin, but is made up of western users who have taken an interest in those topics. It was based upon Japanese image boards such as the hugely popular ‘futaba channel’ (Source: 4chan.org FAQ). It is seemingly made up of people sharing content and discussing the aforementioned topics, however one board known as ‘/b/’ is a lot different to the others. This board is titled ‘Random’ and a disclaimer must be agreed to before entering that part of the website. This disclaimer includes a warning that anyone under the age of 18 should not proceed, a fairly common warning that appears across a spectrum of contemporary media. What differs is the reference to the rules of the website, of which ‘/b/’ is only restricted to the following:

‘1. Do not upload, post, discuss, request, or link to, anything that violates local or United States law. This will be severely punished and strictly enforced.
2. If you are under the age of 18, or it is illegal for you to view the materials contained on this website, discontinue browsing immediately.
4. The posting of personal information or calls to invasion is prohibited.
7. Submitting false reports or otherwise abusing the report system will result in a ban of indeterminate length.
9. Ban evasion will result in permanent bans. No exceptions—DO NOT EVADE YOUR BAN. Instead, wait and appeal it!
10. No spamming or flooding of any kind.
11. Advertising (all forms) is also not welcome—this includes any type of referral linking, "offers", etc. ‘
Source: www.4chan.org/rules (N.B. I will make reference to these rules throughout my research)

Whereas there is a specific rule that applies to all boards, except /b/.

‘3. Do not post the following outside of /b/: Trolls, flames, racism, off-topic replies, uncalled for catchphrases, macro image replies, indecipherable text (example: "lol u tk him 2da bar|?"), anthropomorphic ("furry"), grotesque ("guro"), or loli/shota pornography.’’
Source: www.4chan.org/rules
Any posts made on the board are totally anonymous; therefore under rule 3, posters are free to give honest opinions which are untraceable. ‘Anonymous’ has emerged as the collective name for anyone who posts on the ‘/b/’ board, so therefore I will refer to any one or collective poster as ‘anonymous’. It is this unique freedom of anonymity that, I believe, allows ‘4chan’ to be so innovative.
In 2009, ‘4chan’ was responsible for a series of ‘raids’ on video sharing website ‘YouTube’. In these ‘raids’, the collective ‘anonymous’ uploaded ‘scores of pornographic material’ (Source bbc.co.uk, 2009) to YouTube. The BBC referred to the raid as a ‘planned attack’. Videos of pornographic material were uploaded under names and tags of well known children’s programmes and music. One member of ‘anonymous’ known as ‘flonty’ came forward to the BBC and explained that ‘I did it because YouTube keeps deleting music. It was part of a 4Chan raid’. He went on to explain the nature of ‘4chan’: ‘Anything and everything can, and usually does, happen here. We have our very own unique culture, and there is no group quite like us anywhere out there". The BBC also mention that, by separating himself from the collective, ‘flonty’ was rejecting from the collective ‘anonymous’. This lead me to believe that there is a specific set of unwritten rules within the community, whereby members must act in a certain way. The YouTube raid is not unique; other raids include the ‘Time 100’ hack, whereby ‘anonymous’ was responsible for making 4chan’s founder the number one most influential person of 2008. Not only did they do this, they also hacked the voting system to make the initials of the top 20 winners spell out two popular memes ‘marblecake’ and ‘the game’.
This is the next ‘4chan’ specific point of interest for me, the ‘meme’. A ‘meme’ is a viral image/ video/ any point of interest on the internet that can be parodied to excess. ‘4chan’ is responsible for the majority of ‘memes’ that have gained notoriety in the mainstream media. Websites such as ‘LOLcats’, ‘failblog.org, videos such as ‘chocolate rain’ and the phenomenon ‘rick-rolling’ have all seen their roots traced back to ‘4chan’. The unique way in which an anonymous has an impact on something which appears uninteresting and parodies it to the point where it becomes massively popular, is also a point I am researching. ‘4chan’ is described as "sick" and having "horrifying stuff", despite this I am looking to investigate whether there is space for free thinking and democracy in a place where (almost) anything goes.
One member of the web forum ‘the escapist’ commends 4chan and its attacks.
‘Thanks 4chan for keeping the internet sane, and reminding us that it is not "serious business" but infact the barriers, or lack of, can make it a hilarious playground for bored teens.’
This is what I am setting out to investigate, is ‘4chan’ an anarchic space for ‘anonymous’ to react against the dominant culture, or is just a space for pornography and lewd conversations?
Methodology
My research of the image board ‘4chan’ spanned a period between the 10th and 22nd March 2010. I went onto the website every night at around 11pm GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), in order to access a range of different posts that would integrate a global community. This is because 11pm would represent the late evening posts of the British posters and the afternoon top early evening posts of participators from the USA. I chose these conditions as it is out of normal working hours (9am-5pm) for the majority of the contributors, and the UK and USA contributors make up the majority of the audience (48.7% of traffic from the USA, 5.3% from the UK, Source: http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/4chan.org). Every night I would select and print a selection of threads that were most relevant to my chosen study area. This included posts that were largely focused on non-sexual themes such as parody, ‘hacktivism’ and debate. I omitted any sexual content or defamation, as they did not have any relevance in my study. I then analysed each thread in print form, and interpreted any key themes in content.

Analysis
When I was researching the website, I had a prior knowledge of particular themes and topics that were discussed. The ‘meme’ is well known as a common theme of ‘/b/’, the websites FAQ (frequently asked questions) describes what a meme is:
‘A meme is basically an idea that is easily transferable from one mind to another. Think "catch-phrases". Memes are created when a large group of users come to identify with a particular image or slogan. Their continued [mis]use will bring about the destruction of the universe.’
Source: http://www.4chan.org/faq#meme
During my two weeks observing /b/, I discovered the birth (and rebirth) of a number of memes. A lot of the content was morally questionable, but all appeared to relate to contemporary media in some form, whether just in passing reference or by direct satire. One particular example was on 15/3/2010 (see appendices), wherein there was a ‘meme’ started relating to Peter Jackson’s 2001 film ‘Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’. The opening poster (or ‘OP’ as he is referred to in the replies, this happens consistently: see appendices) produced his image of ‘Aragorn’ (main character in the film) and the text ‘You have my sword’. There are two pieces of insider knowledge needed to respond effectively to this post, and contribute to the ‘meme’. Either, knowledge of the film, its characters and specific dialogue (‘You have my sword’ being the phrase that starts ‘the fellowship’ in the film). This is very specific knowledge that will not be known to everyone entering into a ‘Random’ message board. The only way to get around this insider knowledge is to have a prior knowledge of ‘memes’. As someone who has visited into this field before, I have prior knowledge, and therefore can recognise the post as a ‘meme’. This is something that has come into debate within the field of ethnography, whether it is more important to investigate a culture that you have no insider knowledge and therefore no biases, or whether it is beneficial to have some prior knowledge, whereby a gatekeeper is not needed to gain entry into the culture and a greater breadth of study can be achieved through this prior knowledge. As Bennett (2003) considers the use of insider knowledge in youth cultural ethnography:
‘many contemporary researchers have used their direct experience of and familiarity with particular youth cultural groups as a way in, that is to say, as a means of negotiating access to research settings, establishing field relations and collecting data.’
(Bennett 2003, 189)
This, I believe, is the conditions that I experienced when researching ‘4chan.org’. I was able to distinguish between the parody, the weird and the wonderful. For example when considering the ‘Lord of the Rings meme’, there are different ways in which ‘anonymous’ interacts. Following the ‘OP’, there followed some fifty-seven replies. From my research, I can see that this is a considerable amount, and therefore assume it is a popular ‘meme’. The replies fall into three apparent categories; cultural satire, ‘trolling’ and the outrageous.
I have previously discussed the insider knowledge of ‘anonymous’ when considering the ‘OP’ and ‘Lord of the Rings’. This is a recurring theme in the post, as insider knowledge evolves and turns into satirical references to popular culture. An early reply is with direct response to the original reference, ‘Legolas’ from the film is the image and the text reads ‘You have my bow’. This is a basic reproduction of the original post. This could be seen in Pierre Bourdieu’s idea of cultural capital, whereby through social reproduction, the lower classes can strive to attain the status of the dominant classes. Bourdieu initially used the case study of school children and different social backgrounds, as Lamont et al (1988) discusses Bourdieu’s work,
‘schools are not socially neutral institutions but reflect the experiences of the ‘dominant class. Children from this (dominant) class enter school with key social and cultural cues, while working and lower class students must acquire the knowledge and skills to negotiate their educational experience after they enter school’.
This idea of acquiring knowledge has been used in sociology and cultural studies has evolved to become known as ‘cultural capital’, whereby achieving a specific knowledge and displaying this in a certain way is how people can gain acceptance, or as Bourdieu notes (in Brown 1973, p72) ‘This means that our object becomes the production of the habitus’, the habitus being the predetermined reproduction of practices that will lead to acceptance.
When analysing my data, I could see that ‘anonymous’ was achieving its ‘cultural capital’. The replies include ‘and my axe’, which has a dual meaning. It is a reference to the original film, but when paired with the image (of the American deodorant brand ‘axe’), it becomes something a lot more interesting. Not only is the member recognising the original cultural reference, they are also adding an extra cultural reference, adding to their cultural capital as a socially aware and witty member of the community. This theme continues with witty reference to now-ridiculed pop star ‘Sisqo’, with his image and the text ‘You have my THIONG TH-THONG THONG THONG’. Other references include Stephen Colbert (a possible political signifier of anonymous?), Spongebob Squarepants (a children’s television programme), a reference to Adolf Hitler’s moustache, several religious references and responses in the form of previous memes (such as Christian Bale). Similarly, in other examples from my research, there are popular culture references. On 14/3/2010 the ‘OP’ requests members to create a new ‘wallpaper’ background (a desktop picture for the OP’s computer), this soon becomes a kind of meme in itself. What follows are twenty-five popular culture references, altered with original content to become satirical memes.

Another way that respondents seem to construct memes is by means of ‘trolling’. Through my research, I have come to understand that a ‘troll’ or ‘trolling’ is the introduction of a post that either misleads users or has no relevance to the topic that the ‘OP’ introducing. In short, the ‘troll’ is an annoyance to the flow of the community. Examples of the troll include 15/3/2010; post no. 206915 (see appendices, consistent requests to navigate away from main page). In this reply to the ‘Lord of the Rings’ post, the ‘troll’ uses the popular thread as an opportunity to navigate unsuspecting members away from ‘4chan’ and to a site with a possible threat of a computer virus. This totally goes against the rules of ‘4chan’, specifically:
11. Advertising (all forms) is also not welcome—this includes any type of referral linking, "offers", etc. ‘
The way in which anonymous responds to trolls is with displays of cultural capital and insider knowledge. ‘Trolls’ are often referred to with specific language. This language includes the word ‘cancer’, this is a term that is brought up when experienced members of the community, known as ‘oldfags’, want to display a distaste for the content being discussed, a lack of knowledge from the ‘OP’, or when a ‘troll’ appears. They appear nostalgic about the way that ‘4chan’ has developed since its notoriety across the World Wide Web, claiming that it is not as good as it used to be. In particular, this can be seen with a failed attempt to construct a meme; on 14/3/2010, the ‘OP’ with post no. 206657, attempts to make a cultural reference and satirically deconstruct it. This is done by referencing actor John Candy, by putting his head upon a picture of literal candy (the confectionary). This is not displaying any type of insider knowledge of John Candy, and therefore the ‘OP’ has no cultural capital, and therefore is just making a pun. This is rejected by the community by using a very specific type of response. The response comes in the form of a very early ‘meme’, that is of a ‘LOLcat’ and the caption ‘this is why we can’t have nice things’. The ‘OP’ is addressed in the form of an older ‘meme’, signifying the replier as someone with existing knowledge. This ‘meme’ is now a fully functioning website and therefore signifies the generic nature of the ‘OP’. The final point is the caption itself, meaning that the existence of newer members without the necessary cultural capital is the reason why ‘4chan’ is experiencing a ‘cancer’. The reply is the only one, which further implies that the ‘OP’ is an example of how not to construct a ‘meme’.

This contrasts with the thread opened up on 22/3/10, whereby the ‘OP’ confronts the members with a picture of the turtle, and gives him the name ‘nigel’. This is an open canvas for ‘anonymous’ to exploit the original content and give their own satirical accounts. In this example, ‘anonymous’ uses its collective face. This is the face of the mask from the 2005 film ‘V for Vendetta’. This became the collective face for ‘anonymous’ at some point, probably because of the anarchic nature of the film. In my short ethnographic research I was unable to make any assumptions into how the ‘meme’ emerged, instead looking at secondary accounts of the events. The ‘V for Vendetta’ mask was used in a series of real-life protests, by people calling themselves ‘anonymous’. This was in response to The Church of Scientology, after they removed a controversial video of Scientologist Tom Cruise, a source of meme for the 4chan community. This mask became a visual signifier of some of the causes ‘anonymous’ has come to represent. The use of the mask in the thread, became a way of initiating ‘nigel the turtle’ into the world of ‘4chan’. The combination of new and old means that there is shared cultural knowledge in the thread, and therefore acceptance.


When observing ‘/b’ I noticed that a lot of the content being discussed was similar to what many researchers have come to call ‘hacktivism’ (see Taylor 2005, Kahn and Kellner 2004). Taylor (2005, pVII) describes ‘hacktivism’ as ‘popular political action’ emerging from ‘self-activity of groups of people, in cyberspace.’ Through prior research I have established that ‘4chan’ had displayed acts of ‘hacktivism’ (see appendices, project chanology, dusty the cat, Google swastika, the hacking of for US vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin’s, private email account).
Hacktivism during my two week observation came in the form of a raid on one particular website. This website is referred to as ‘AnT’, and its founder is what I have come to understand as a ‘troll’, but apparently on a much larger scale than previously discussed. When reading an article I was redirected to by ‘4chan’, (see appendices ‘kimmo raid’), it appeared that the founder ‘kimmo’ was responsible for posting illegal material on ‘4chan’, as 4chan’s founder ‘moot’ notes ‘he spams 4chan to adverise his website, which is a haven for pedophiles’. For these reasons, members of anonymous scheduled a ‘raid’.
Initially I was excited that during my observation there was going to be an example of ‘hacktivism’, played out live. The announcement was in the form of a large image, similar to a real live event poster, (see appendices: ‘Operation AnTFUCK III & Project Kimmotheraphy’), this ‘OP’ was responded to with popular culture references to recently released first-person shooter video game ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’, and similar themes relating to a war. This, has lead me to believe that acts of ‘hacktivism’ are a lot more akin to real life attacks, than web play. Whereby, references such as ‘Get armed and get ready’, ‘we’re under attack’, ‘our uav is online’. Similarly, meme’s are referenced such as ‘moore lasers please’, a request in the form of a popular culture reference to actor Roger Moore. There is a definite pattern on ‘/b/’, a way to act that needs clear insider knowledge, like previously noted when I discussed memes.
The following day, I started my observation slightly earlier, at 8pm GMT. This was the time scheduled for the raid (see appendices). Upon embarking on the website, I discovered a thread relating to the raid; it started with the ‘OP’ image the same as the announcement and text that read ‘GO GO GO DESTROY ANONTALK’. This was responded to in an organised manner. There were similar pictures and pop culture references to initiate that something was about to occur. What followed was each ‘anonymous’ user responding to the fact that they had completed the raid. The raid was using specific programmes to overload ‘AnT’, and crash the website. Posts such as ‘remember to increase to 900 threads’ and ‘It's almost down now, c'mon people!’ show how ‘anonymous’ actively engages with ‘raids’. In contrast, the thread also shows attempts by some members to disregard authenticity. Posts such as ‘ITT: newfags thinking that what they do will make a difference’. Similar to the failed ‘memes’, some members appear to retain nostalgia and seek to reject new ‘raids’. This could be due to a lack of cultural capital on behalf of newer members, or because the increased exposure has lead the community to feel commercialised in the same manner as Dick Hebdige views subcultures, ‘subcultural styles subsequently would be recognised for their profit making potential’ (In Hodkinson 2007, p11).

Throughout my two weeks of observation, I witnessed a lot more than pornography. What I witnessed, amongst the heavy amount of trolling and racist comments, was that some members of the community were discussing very controversial political themes. During my ethnographical research, one of the most talked about global trends was the US health care reform that was currently under debate in the US (Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8586492.stm . The ways in which this debate was addressed was by the ‘OP’ of former US president George W. Bush, with the caption ‘Miss me yet?’ and the question ‘Do you?’ This opened up a huge debate, spanning over one hundred replies. Some of the replies included racist comments referring to the current US president Barack Obama, some included random ‘trolling’, but some were quality debates surrounding the issue, for example post no. 208917XXX reads:

‘We dont dislike helping people, we do it all the damn time. We just dont like it when our leaders dont do what we feel is right. Forcing me to pay illegal immigrant’s healthcare or supporting an underachiever who never worked as hard as I have pisses me the fuck off. I work hard to support myself. This new healthcare thing is bullshit.’ (See appendices)
The debate spirals out of control with the ‘britfags’ (anonymous users from the UK) condemned as liberals with a flawed health care system. The debate touches on issues such as the Iraq war ‘which is why Bush Jr felt a need to rectify his fathers mistake’ (22/3/2010, 12.02:47, 208915XXX). There are displays of bigotry ‘even fags know you can’t throw money at a problem and make it go away’, (I should note that in my two weeks of observation there were hundreds of uses of the word ‘fag’ and the majority weren’t referring to homosexuality). There are displays of racism ‘kill niggers’. It spans from one extreme to another with some users intelligently constructing an argument ‘You need a balance between personal responsibility and pure altruism’, to the bizarrely unintelligent ‘fuck this nigger and his healthcare’.
This free exchange of ideas could be considered as highly democratised, ‘anonymous’ is free to say what they like without persecution or repercussions. This idea of a democratised internet is not a new one. As Harris (2008, p485) argues that young women do not have the space for ‘critique’, ‘self expression’, ‘peer dialogue’ in the ‘real world’ and have lost faith in ‘conventional politics’. The internet offers up something unique, in the form of ‘blogging, virtual community engagement and website maintenance’, which translates into a ‘new kind of politics and new meanings of participation’. Harris’ ideas can be seen in ‘4chan’, anonymity is giving its members the opportunity to be as honest with their opinions as they like. Without being recognised, members are free to be as provocative as they like, which makes for a very interesting (albeit offensive) read, as one member says (22/3/2010, 11:42:38, 208911XXX) ‘this thread is giving me great pleasure’.

As an observer of this highly controversial site, I was initially offended by some of the comments made. As I considered Malinowski’s (1922) idea of ‘going native’, I was able to put aside any moral objections and see the site as a highly democratised web of satire, comment and activism. If I took the opportunity to ignore the aspects that were not engaging, then ‘4chan’ becomes one of the most influential sub-cultures (If I can call it that) of contemporary times, as Kahn and Kellner (2004, 87) note ‘The global internet, then, is creating the base and the basis for an unparalleled worldwide anti-war/pro-peace and social justice movement during a time of terrorism, war, and intense political struggle’. Websites such as ‘4chan’, it appears have the intelligence, creative flow and the interest to achieve Kahn and Kellner’s optimism. In my appendices includes a screen capture of the warning I received when trying to access ‘4chan’ late night on the 22/3/10. I was banned from the website with the warning ‘Your post contained a banned URL’. I did not post any material. The 22/3/10 is a day I printed a lot of material, was my IP (computer’s fingerprint) being recorded, and my high level of printing posed a threat to anonymous? There is no way of knowing if this is true or not, one thing I can take from my research is that ‘4chan’ is a very mobilised unit focused on anonymity for its success. Ethnographic research may not be possible if ‘anonymous’ has their way.



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