EmmaYouAreNext was, thankfully, nothing but a hoax

Sep 24, 2014 07:52 GMT  ·  By

Earlier this week, following her UN speech on gender equality, Emma Watson was threatened with a nude photo leak. This turned out to be a viral marketing stunt to shut down 4chan, the site where the Celebgate photos landed weeks ago.

The website was called EmmaYouAreNext.com and threatened to release nude photographs of the Harry Potter actress on Saturday at 12 AM ET. The site simply displayed a simple countdown and a photo of Emma Watson.

Tuesday, it indicated that there was going to be an earlier launch, asking people to tune in on September 24, at 12AM EST. Interestingly, the note was accompanied by 4chan’s logo.

The site soon turned into a completely different one, replacing Watson’s face and the countdown clock. Visitors got redirected to the homepage of Rantic Marketing, a company that is known for creating viral marketing campaigns.

“Shut down 4chan”

The site’s homepage presents visitors with a demand to shut down 4chan. “Join us as we shutdown 4chan and prevent more private pictures from being leaked. None of these women deserve this and together we can make a change,” reads one of the messages on the site.

They state that EmmaYouAreNext.com has reached over 48 million visitors, 7 million Facebook shares and likes, as well as 3 million Twitter mentions in the entire world, showing just how quickly this type of content disseminates on the Internet.

The site also sports a letter to US president Barack Obama. “We have been hired by celebrity publicists to bring this disgusting issue to attention. The recent 4chan celebrity nude leaks in past 2 months have been an invasion of privacy and is also clear indication that the Internet NEEDS to be censored. Every Facebook like, share & Twitter mention will count as a social signature – and will be step closer to shutting down www.4chan.org,” reads the message signed by Rantic.com.

While the effort to shut down 4chan is commendable considering what has happened so far and how many women's privacy were violated by hackers, it’s not going to solve anything. If this one gets shut down, which it likely won’t, another one will pop up immediately to cover the market area.

Furthermore, the idea that the Internet needs to be censored is wrong and no US leader will agree to such a move if he or she wants to ever be reelected. The Internet isn’t meant to be censored and the only countries where this actually happens aren’t exactly known for being democratic.

EmmaYouAreNext.com marketing campaign (4 Images)

The site asks for the shut down of 4chan
They're asking people to help out and join the campaignThe site went viral
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