Internet pranksters, gathered around the popular anonymous Internet forum 4chan, have seemingly orchestrated an attack on Twitter, creating a number of fake accounts and pushing the hashtag #gorillapenis to the trending topics.
The attack now seems to be under control, as that particular hashtag is no longer visible in Twitter trends, but coupled with the recent problem with the suspension of several real accounts -- which might have been partly due to the 4chan attack -- it once again shows that Twitter is going to have a hard time controlling spammers, pranksters and hackers whose number will inevitably increase with the rise of Twitter's popularity.
On a side note, CNET blogger Harrison Hoffman has linked to the Insurgency Wiki, which is an "offense" in the eyes of the 4chan crowd, and therefore the page that previously explained the details about the attack on Twitter is now making fun of him. It's an interesting tactic: by stifling attempts to link to the site, it reduces its relevance in Google's index, therefore making the site harder to find.
The instructions for the attack, dubbed "Operation Shitter," were as follows:
1. Create Twitter accounts
2. Post messaged including the #gorillapenis hashtag
3. Make #gorillapenis a Trending Topic on Twitter
4. ????
5. PROFIT