4chan, Known as Internet's 'Cesspool', Goes Down After Alleged Hack

It looks like 4chan has been knocked offline after a significant cyberattack that allegedly led to the exposure of its source code. On Monday night, a user on a rival platform took credit for the breach and claimed they managed to reactivate the site's /qa/ board.

4chan, however, is no stranger to pulling the wool over outsiders' eyes, famously sporting the motto: "Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact." This image-sharing site has been a breeding ground for the Anonymous movement and later became a hotspot for far-right extremism. It's also the blueprint for similar sites like 8chan.

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There's a buzz going around, though not yet confirmed, that the 4chan data leak might include emails of its moderators. Some whispers suggest this could be due to the site operating on software that hasn't been updated since 2016.

Yet, Jared Holt, a senior researcher at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, throws a bit of cold water on the more sensational rumors. He notes that claims about .edu and .gov email addresses appearing in the leaked data seem to be unfounded. After digging into what he could verify, Holt said, "the source for this claim was not legit…after spending the morning with what materials I could halfway assess as legit I am sad to report that this is a real snoozer."