A 4chan user has created an ominous countdown site that hints at the release of leaked naked photographs of actress Emma Watson in just over four days.In the Emma Watson case, it’s unclear if her account too has been hacked by this group of users who are hell-bent on leaking nude pictures of female celebrities. However the Business Insider report notes, this site could also be a prank and that “Fake countdown sites are a classic tactic for internet pranksters.”
“Emma You Are Next” features a photograph of Emma Watson wiping away a tear, as well as a countdown timer, the 4chan logo, and a message that reads “Never forget, the biggest to come thus far.”
It’s never explicitly stated what is counting down to, but it follows a wave of new leaked photographs posted on 4chan of Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna and other stars who were included on the original list of celebrities affected by the iCloud hack.
As we had noted in this earlier piece, this hacking was just another form of cyber abuse. While misogynists mights argue that the actresses have no right to privacy since some of them might have appeared nude in their films, the fact that the someone felt the need to hack into personal phones, iPads etc to get to these images is plain wrong.
The hacking story is particularly ironical since some of these same people who leaked and later shared pictures of the actresses were probably outraged over the NSA privacy violation leaks.
4chan is a notorious online messageboard, and was blamed for the original set of leaked iCloud photos. The site’s anonymous users often launch pranks and hoaxes to laugh at other internet users, and also to further worsen the site’s reputation. In the past, 4chan users have tried to convince people to microwave their iPhones, break their Xbox consoles, #EndFathersDay and self-harm for Justin Bieber.