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July 5, 2009 3:26 PM PDT

4chan may be behind attack on Twitter

by Harrison Hoffman

Update: Twitter has reacted to this raid by removing the term from its trending topics, but evidence can still be found on Twitter Search.

Twitter saw a huge influx of fake accounts on Sunday, pushing the NSFW trending topic, #gorillapenis, all the way to the top of the list. Popular image board 4chan /b/, along with other various sites, appears to be behind this latest raid on Twitter. 4chan, a hub of Internet culture and memes, has long been the spawning point of various raids on sites, most recently YouTube Porn Day. Before that, they were responsible for hacking Time Magazine's voting system for the World's Most Influential Person, making the site's creator, moot, the winner by a wide margin.

A set of instructions for the raid on Twitter.

(Credit: Insurgency Wiki)

They are calling this latest effort "Operation Shitter." As you can see in the instruction set image, the blame is trying to be laid on Ebaum's World, which is, as far as we can tell, not involved in the raid. Blaming things on Ebaum's World is sort of a tradition on 4chan. A wiki (with information now pulled) was also formed to give instructions on how to systematically game Twitter's trending topics. The wiki suggests that raiders use a script, written by them, to spam the hashtag.

A similar NSFW trending topic on the subject of Mollie Sugden also sprung up recently after her death. While I'm not for censoring people by any means, when attacks like this pop up, Twitter has to have a better detection mechanism in place, ready to deal with it, especially as Twitter gets more and more mainstream attention.

Harrison Hoffman is a tech enthusiast and co-founder of LiveSide.net, a blog about Windows Live. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
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Add a Comment (Log in or register) Showing 1 of 2 pages (74 Comments)
by johnyt1977 July 5, 2009 4:06 PM PDT
Spamming to get on the trending topics list is nothing new. The 4chan kids are late to the game (you just lost). If they managed to control all 10 topics that might be worthy of the headline "Twitter under siege." They probably couldn't do it though. They have become weaker since the scientology days.
Reply to this comment
by MustafaTortillini July 6, 2009 4:31 AM PDT
I don't think they've gotten "weaker" as such, it's just that Scientology was one of the few subjects that everybody on /b/ was undivided on, whereas with subjects like Twitter and spamming random websites, /b/ is much more seperated. I for one know that despite the fact that I joined in with the Scientology incident, I couldn't care less about spamming Twitter and therefore I didn't join in. /b/ is just as strong as ever, it just needs to find something that everybody agrees on.
by tonybls12 July 5, 2009 4:15 PM PDT
you are wrong about the Mollie Sugden trending topic being NSFW, as were techcrunch http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/02/once-again-twitter-trending-topics-polluted-by-spam/
and mashable http://mashable.com/2009/07/02/spam-twitter-trends/
It was a tribute from her fans and was a fun mark of respect to a much loved British comedy actress.
I agree Twitter has to have a better detection mechanism in place to deal with it, not just to stop the bad stuff but to not label legitimate topics as spam.
maybe they should just turn it off ?
Reply to this comment
by starsky32 July 5, 2009 4:27 PM PDT
What is so "NSFW" in #gorillapenis? The '*****' part? Give me a break...
Reply to this comment
by Hunnter2k3 July 5, 2009 4:56 PM PDT
Perhaps the "Operation *******" part flew over your head.
by Police_States_of_America July 5, 2009 5:24 PM PDT
wrong this is an EBAUMS raid and they are trying to put the blame on 4chan by starting topics there that no one cares about
Reply to this comment
by tm_anon July 5, 2009 7:45 PM PDT
found another member. just look at the post above mine.
by pf_anon July 5, 2009 8:55 PM PDT
who appointed you to the Internet Stasi, tm_anon?
by HerbSewell July 5, 2009 5:34 PM PDT
CNET obviously doesn't both checking out its news sources. This was definitely from by Ebaum's.
Reply to this comment
by tm_anon July 5, 2009 7:47 PM PDT
and another one.
by pf_anon July 5, 2009 9:02 PM PDT
good job tm_anon! what would cnet do without you?
oh right you are of no consequence whatsoever.

no one would even notice
by mjconver July 5, 2009 5:44 PM PDT
Thanks, that's just further justification for deleting my twitter account last week. Time to get back to real life.
Reply to this comment
by JohnSugent July 5, 2009 5:47 PM PDT
The topic name itself is rather good proof of the writers uncertainty in the situation. He states 4chan may be behind it. Not that they are, due to legal purposes if he were to be wrong.
4chan.org had nothing to do with this. We don't do stuff like this. We have standards and this is so lowbrow. We always get blamed for ebaumsworld shenanigans and I, for one, would like to see their leader, Eric Bauman, answer for this kind of criminal activity and besmirching moot's good name.

moot is an innovator -he was rated the most influental person in the world according to Time magazine- and he doesn't deserve this black mark on his reputation. moot does not tolerate 'raids' such as this on his site, on this he has been very clear. And the overwhelming majority of his userbase don't condone this kind of bahaviour either for that matter.

I'm an upstanding adult citizen in lawl enforcement and I wouldn't be caught dead with these clowns from ebaums.
Reply to this comment
by tm_anon July 5, 2009 7:48 PM PDT
and another one. wow, you'd think they'd try and be more discreet.
by DavidS234089 July 5, 2009 8:55 PM PDT
tm_anon right here is a perfect example of the sort of paranoid lunacy I'm talking about, who's so far gone he's actually accusing many posters of being part of some conspiracy. Like I said, get a grip, and take off your ridiculous tinfoil hat too. There's no 4chan conspiracy just like there's no such thing as the Illuminati.
by joyofsomeone July 6, 2009 4:01 AM PDT
I dunno, JohnSugent's comment almost worked... But the possible typo of law into lawl could be a fail on his part :)
by rich97 July 6, 2009 10:25 AM PDT
Oh please, I've been on that site several times before. I've even seen one of your organized "raids" on a fitness site.

As for moot being an innovator, I'm not sure, he has certainly made one of the most...ummmm...unique sites on the internet, but I don't know if that is innovation or if he just lets anyone post whatever they like anonymously and that in itself has created the interesting crowd of idiots that frequent 4chan. Oh and I wonder how he could have POSSIBLY made him the most influential person of 2009? Hmmmmm... I imagine it wen't something like this...

Forum: /b/

Posted by: SomeAnonLoserOn4Chan
1. Goto (link to time magazine polls)
2. Vote for moot
3. ???
4. PROFIT?

Seriously guys shove off. 4chans' escapades were funny the first time. No longer.
by RoC1909 July 6, 2009 12:25 PM PDT
Yup. I wouldn't doubt that you are a "upstanding citizen" in LAWL [sic] enforcement. Give everyone a break. I keep forgetting that 4chan and it's "upstanding citizens" are all about rainbows, world peace, hugs and kisses and being respectful to others. *rollseyes
by AnonymousAnonymous July 9, 2009 1:47 AM PDT
I can't say that I have been a "4channer" for long, but what i can say over and over again is that 4chan is an image board for goodness sakes. And though the world would be a more interesting place for people who like to complain about silly conspiracy theories and the related absurdities if 4chan really was some hangout for amazing hackers that are on a mission to annoy everybody in the world (because that makes since on an open image board), the bottom line is that it is not. This is the same absurd thinking that clouded public perception of the masons; all religious arguments aside, they just try to organize ways to help the people of the world (trust me, my family is full of them and none of them want to take over the world). It's even more absurd to accuse an image board of being some tight nit community of malevolent tricksters when anybody can show up and post anything that he or she likes there. People should open their eyes.
by kryshkrysh July 5, 2009 5:55 PM PDT
4chan did not do this. If you looked into it enough, you would have figured that out. Great job on your terrible reporting. eBaums is behind the childish spamming. Honestly, 4chan would never do something so ridiculous and time wasting. -.- Ugh.
Reply to this comment
by tm_anon July 5, 2009 7:56 PM PDT
the more the claim gets made, the more you confirm one side or the other. At least, that's what you think you're doing. The reality is, the majority of people on this planet abhor both sites and think both sides are filled with only the most retarded members.

Notice I didn't say every member is retarded. However, look at what company you keep.
by AnonymousAnonymous July 9, 2009 1:53 AM PDT
Read my post on "the company you keep" below please. This argument is almost as silly as the schism in "A Series of Unfortunate Events"; one side convinced that the other side is doing wrong, while the other side doesn't really exist, and finnaly there are people who take a side thinking that the non-existent side does exist. Every one gets confused. Come on people. Stop ragging on image boards. lol What kind of an absurd, childish, nonsequential, form of logic is the general public using these days.....
by Minotauro79 July 5, 2009 6:40 PM PDT
I could care less what happens on Twitter. It's seems to only be for kids who want to follow their favorite celeb's every move, every second of the day. That's the last thing kids today need imo.
Reply to this comment
by Harrison912 July 8, 2009 3:56 PM PDT
I used to think the same thing but I'm learning how to use Twitter to socially market my safety and security web site as well as get helpful information when I need it in a hurry from people in particular fields. Like anything that was created for a good purpose, there are those who will figure out how to use it the wrong way.
by WhisperSecrets July 5, 2009 6:43 PM PDT
They do not like their evil activities exposed. See for yourself: insurgen.info/wiki/Main_Page
Please do more stories about them!
Reply to this comment
by DavidS234089 July 5, 2009 7:35 PM PDT
Good lord, you people and your ridiculous conspiracy theories. I bet you believe the Illuminati is somehow responsible for this. Everyone on the internet knows ebaumsworld people do malicious pranks every now and then and blame it on people like 4chan. Get a grip people. This is just utterly moronic there is no single group that could possibly be responsible for all those "attacks" unless you people think of bringing out the tired old anti-semitism, bigotry, and groundless paranoia. What is this world coming to where such absurd conspiracy theories about anonymous people are reported as "news."
Reply to this comment
by daimajinbuu July 6, 2009 5:24 AM PDT
I agree with your comment. Salute'!
by RedGiant947 July 6, 2009 9:21 AM PDT
No, it really is 4chan you "moron". Why wouldn't it be? The single group you are talking about is incredibly huge, bored, racist, and we are all complete ***holes. It is way bigger than ebaumsworld. The attacks are spread out, I'm surprised their aren't more.
by thelemurking July 7, 2009 7:37 AM PDT
/b/ is not your personal army, and there was no call for /b/lackup for a raid
by terminalblue July 5, 2009 7:39 PM PDT
can i say ******* on cnet? only one way to find out!
Reply to this comment
by terminalblue July 5, 2009 7:39 PM PDT
nope!
by mikestatic1 July 5, 2009 7:43 PM PDT
I suppose this kind of activity might seem interesting if I didn't have a job or a life. Nah, it would still seem pathetic and pointless. Kind of like the people that do it.
Reply to this comment
by karizmatkstalyn July 5, 2009 8:13 PM PDT
This wasn't started by 4chan. It was a member of Sarcasticgamer.com that started this whole thing. Trust me, I know him. We've been trying to get this to be a trending topic for about a week and then we were able to schedule a time for everyone to post.
Reply to this comment
by AngelusKraken July 5, 2009 9:00 PM PDT
#MrsSlocombesPussy was a running joke on the 1970s British sitcom Are You Being Served?, through which Mollie Sugden became a household name - the show was packed with camp innuendo, and Sugden's character Mrs Slocombe regularly remarked on the condition of her pet cat with comments such as "Has anybody seen my *****?" when it went missing, or "My ***** is all damp" when the cat had been out in the rain, generally followed by nonplussed expressions from bystanders.

Quite how you've managed to conflate this with a supposed 'attack' on Twitter by /b/tards, I'm at something of a loss to fathom...
Reply to this comment
by Sam Papelbon July 5, 2009 9:12 PM PDT
4chan is a vehicle for communication. saying 4chan is 'behind' this, is like saying craigslist is behind all of the bad things its users may do. for all anybody knows, the people behind ebaums could have posted the idea on 4chan. 4chan is not really a set group of people, however. it's like a big public wall that people draw graffiti on, and it's frequently painted over so people can draw more graffiti. somebody decides to write 'for a good time call XXX-XXXX' and someone does. you don't blame the wall, or lump all the people who draw on the wall together for the blame. see?
Reply to this comment
by clamenza July 6, 2009 7:57 AM PDT
No, I don't see. Someone above said it right, look what company you keep.
by AnonymousAnonymous July 9, 2009 1:27 AM PDT
I agree with Sam. I believe, that culturally, the way of associating people by the "company [they] keep" is no longer a sound measure of definition of an individual or group and is no longer ethically credible ever since the onset of this new golden age of information sharing (though it is still, sadly, applied every day, much to the dissmay of mankind's civilized progression). 4chan is simply a huge crossroads of imformation and culture, whether this is an accepted culture by the "mainstream" or not. Accusing 4chan of running these attacks is like accusing the internet of producing all of mainstream society's vices. It's not a site that does dumb things; people do dumb things.
by mclaurin10 July 5, 2009 10:08 PM PDT
God, things like this make me remember how much I love 4chan.
Reply to this comment
by stockyjoe July 5, 2009 11:38 PM PDT
how does 4chan which is basically a bunch of kid hacks wreak so much havoc? It says a lot about the security and content control measures of sites like twitter which is pretty bad.
Reply to this comment
by RedGiant947 July 6, 2009 9:23 AM PDT
It's a bunch of computer savvy ***holes, not kids, and it isn't content control, it's basically like overloading a search box so that the most popular term will show up on top.
by DavidBillyDavidMaysDavid July 8, 2009 11:12 PM PDT
OMG!! 4chan doesn't do anyhting! do you have any idea how big eabum's population is? they always do things and then blame it on 4chan but "people" i guess regular people with no knowledge of any of the chans and the internet, think that its actually 4chan.Because of Faux News, and because 4chan is so mainstream now.the Anons at 4chan are just kids, the other chans do the actually raids and shenanigans and 4chan gets blamed, 4chan doesn't even have an /i/ board. The Scientology days are over 4chan is no longer the Final Boss of the internet.Its currently down.Who took them down? eabums did it.(BTW 4chan didn't start the youpr0n raid they just joined in and ruined it)
by AnonymousAnonymous July 9, 2009 1:36 AM PDT
Y'all are all missing the point. Computer Savvy jerks are behind this. You can't blame an open online community. If you could, any group of people posting on this site that happen to commit some sort of crime (not that they would) would cause this site to take the heat for their actions. 4chan is an open image board, do your homework for goodness sake. It's not ebaum's or anybody else. It's a small group of people that happen to communicate on the 4chan website just as mob bosses communicate by telephone and just as other groups use email services to conduct blackmarket operations. I hope people don't start blaming yahoo mail for lottery scandals...
by Cnetfan77 July 6, 2009 2:05 AM PDT
www.thedge.com
www.seriall.com

If you look at the cover story on thedge you'll see a more in depth report about this. Scroll about half way down on seriall and there's an interview with someone who helped get this thing rolling.

Cheers!
Reply to this comment
by hatmon July 6, 2009 2:20 AM PDT
I can't imagine why Americans should take offence at mention of an old lady's pet cat.
Reply to this comment
by caroline.mccarthy July 6, 2009 6:16 AM PDT
I thought that trending topic was hilarious. I used to watch that show when it was in reruns on PBS, but most people in the U.S. are totally unfamiliar with it and wouldn't get the reference in the Twitter hashtag at all. There is a great montage of all the best Mrs. Slocombe moments on YouTube, FYI.

This is interesting for Twitter -- it's a global phenomenon, what happens if there's a trending topic that's innocuous in one region but offensive in another?
Showing 1 of 2 pages (74 Comments)
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About The Web Services Report

Harrison Hoffman is a tech enthusiast and co-founder of LiveSide.net, a blog about Windows Live. The Web Services Report covers news, opinions, and analysis on Web-based software from Microsoft, Google, Yahoo, and countless other companies in this rapidly expanding space. Hoffman currently attends the University of Miami, where he studies business and computer science.

Send Harrison an e-mail.
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He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure

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