Tragedy struck Oakland's independent music community earlier this month when warehouse space Ghost Ship caught fire during an electronic music event, killing 36 people. In its wake, debates have risen over safety concerns for similar types of venues. Now, 4chan users are reporting DIY venues and art spaces to the authorities.
Posts were made on the anonymous message board's subgroup "/pol/" ("Politically Incorrect") calling others to help "crush the radical left" by using the site to report venues.
"These places are open hotbeds of liberal radicalism and degeneracy and now YOU [sic] can stop them by reporting all such places you may be or may become aware of to the authorities, specifically the local fire marshel [sic]," the user wrote. "Watch them and follow them to their hives. Infiltrate social circles, go to parties/events, record evidence and report it. We've got them on the run but now we must crush their nests before they can regroup!"
The poster wished "happy hunting" to everyone in signing off with the acronym MAGA, standing for Donald Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again." THUMP reports that the now-deleted thread soon filled with memes and hate speech advocating for the cause.
"Look on college communities, facebook groups, and music forums. Try searching for keywords like queer and safespace" [sic]," one poster wrote, while another wrote that "These places hold Black Lives Matter meetings. These places plan protests that disrupt our cities. These places illegally house our enemies. Stop them."
The boards on 4chan are limited to ten pages of comments, with threads being removed from the site not long after they expire. The original post about the Ghost Ship fire existed for a day, though further posts have surfaced on the topic since. This behaviour isn't out of the ordinary for users to the site, though still holds potential to have real world consequences.
As of press time, a crowdfunding campaign has raised over $680,000 USD for the families of Ghost Ship fire victims. If you feel so inclined, you can donate here.
Thanks to THUMP for the tip.
Posts were made on the anonymous message board's subgroup "/pol/" ("Politically Incorrect") calling others to help "crush the radical left" by using the site to report venues.
"These places are open hotbeds of liberal radicalism and degeneracy and now YOU [sic] can stop them by reporting all such places you may be or may become aware of to the authorities, specifically the local fire marshel [sic]," the user wrote. "Watch them and follow them to their hives. Infiltrate social circles, go to parties/events, record evidence and report it. We've got them on the run but now we must crush their nests before they can regroup!"
The poster wished "happy hunting" to everyone in signing off with the acronym MAGA, standing for Donald Trump's campaign slogan "Make America Great Again." THUMP reports that the now-deleted thread soon filled with memes and hate speech advocating for the cause.
"Look on college communities, facebook groups, and music forums. Try searching for keywords like queer and safespace" [sic]," one poster wrote, while another wrote that "These places hold Black Lives Matter meetings. These places plan protests that disrupt our cities. These places illegally house our enemies. Stop them."
The boards on 4chan are limited to ten pages of comments, with threads being removed from the site not long after they expire. The original post about the Ghost Ship fire existed for a day, though further posts have surfaced on the topic since. This behaviour isn't out of the ordinary for users to the site, though still holds potential to have real world consequences.
As of press time, a crowdfunding campaign has raised over $680,000 USD for the families of Ghost Ship fire victims. If you feel so inclined, you can donate here.
Thanks to THUMP for the tip.
