Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
We inform. You decide.
Thursday, March 28, 2024

4chan's #CutForBieber goes too far

We’ve all done it.

Paid back a sibling with a bucket of water or taken April Fool’s Day a little too far. Pranks can be fun (and they can definitely be necessary).

However, last week 4chan decided to take a so-called “prank” much too far. Living up to its less-than-reputable reputation, the infamous members of the anonymous chat boards proved that some technology can be too much technology.

In a private chat room that was later exposed by BuzzFeed, 4chan users planned an entire hoax centered on the Twitter hashtag #cutforBieber. YouTube channels, Twitter channels, Facebook posts — hours were spent creating an entire media trail to convince the world that preteen girls were cutting themselves to protest Justin Bieber smoking pot (a world phenomenon stemming from a oh-so-shocking picture of the Biebs holding a blunt).

Pretending to be young girls, 4channers posted fake but explicit pictures of cutting their wrists, arms covered in blood and the resulting scars, adding comments such as, “Why did you do this Justin Bieber I love you so much,” and, “I hope this makes you happy, weed is bad for you.”

They even went so far as to create pretend profiles for young girls who died after taking their protests too far. #RememberAddison, complete with her supposed brother’s Twitter page asking the world to remember her short life, began trending before the hoax was uncovered.

While the hashtag, #cutforBieber (or #cut4Bieber, if you want to enhance the preteen speak), is now forgotten, it scares me. What else can we be tricked into believing, just because it appears to have a reputable Facebook or YouTube page behind it? Not to mention the disgusting person who had the great idea of writing on a public chat room, “See if we can get some little girls to cut themselves.”

When hearing of the event, a good friend of mine replied, “Even though the Internet gives you anonymity, it doesn’t mean that the people you are hurting aren’t real.”

I completely agree. The world will never know how many innocent teens really did cut themselves after seeing the hashtag on their Twitter feeds, how many lives really could have been lost due to 4chan’s insensitivity.

I’m all for sardonic attacks on ridiculous celebrities, and, of course, I support a good, old-fashioned prank, but faking a virtual horror story is too far. This did nothing to hurt Bieber and probably did nothing to affect his personal habits. With the power of the Internet comes the responsibility of maintaining common sense and sensitivity.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox
Support your local paper
Donate Today
The Independent Florida Alligator has been independent of the university since 1971, your donation today could help #SaveStudentNewsrooms. Please consider giving today.

Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2024 The Independent Florida Alligator and Campus Communications, Inc.