It's Official (and Hacked): 4chan Founder Sweeps Time's Top 100 List

 By 
Stan Schroeder
 on 
It's Official (and Hacked): 4chan Founder Sweeps Time's Top 100 List
Mashable Image
Credit:

Remember, it's not Barack Obama, not Oprah Winfrey, not Pope Benedict XVI, but moot. He received 16,794,368 votes and an average influence rating of 90 (out of a possible 100).

Epic win. But the entire list looks very odd, influence-wise. Does it make sense at all? Not if you've been following closely.

Mashable Image
Credit:

However, the results of the vote have nothing to do with influence. If you think that this is the result of a fair vote, think again. The entire first 21 results, as noted days ago, are the result of an elaborate hack done by 4chan users.

It's surprising, thus, that Time pretends that everything is alright. From their article about the results:

"Moot denies knowing about any concerted plan by his followers to influence the poll, though TIME.com's technical team did detect and extinguish several attempts to hack the vote."

Erm, extinguish? The vote is obviously hacked. Time's attempts to fix the damage came too late, and the 4chan folks managed to put the encrypted message back into order (if you read the first letters of the first 21 names on the list, the message reads "Marblecake also the game").

The biggest stories of the day delivered to your inbox.
These newsletters may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. By clicking Subscribe, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up. See you at your inbox!