Website users create internet script in attempt to reach 1,000,000 followers
From the BNO Newsroom.
San Francisco, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) – It's a race against time for users of the website "4chan" who have created a script which enables them to create hundred of thousands of Twitter accounts and make them follow a certain user. "4chan" is a popular English-language image and discussion board which was launched in 2003 and is by some described as the most powerful group online.
Just before 1 a.m. EDT on Thursday morning, one user first posted a message in which he or she encouraged users to run a script on the social networking site Twitter. The reason given, on the discussion board of the website, is to get one million followers before Ashton Kutcher or the news network CNN does, who have challenged each other to get one million followers first.
"Honestly, if either of them win, the entire internet fucking loses," a user wrote on the 4chan discussion board. "What say we miraculously beat them to the punch with an all-new account?"
The a script which is being promoted creates random usernames, passwords and e-mail addresses although users still have to enter a security code to prove they are human, which appeared to be a setback for the group. The Twitter account being used to gather one million followers on is "basementdad", which is inspired by Josef Fritzl from Austria. Fritzl was recently convicted of sexually abusing his own daughter in his basement for some 24 years.
As of 2 p.m. EDT on Thursday, "basementdad" had more than 221,000 followers and a page posted on a server showed that between 600 to 900 accounts per minute are being added. Meanwhile, CNN had nearly 970,000 followers while Ashton Kutcher had about 956,00.
Del Harvey, who handles abuse on Twitter, told BNO News they were aware of 4chan's actions. "We're aware of it and we're monitoring the situation," she said. "It's not just one person."
It is unclear if it's possible for Twitter to stop the attempt, as it involves many users and countless of Twitter accounts although the account "basementdad" could be seen as impersonation of Josef Fritzl, which is not allowed under the terms of service.
It is also uncertain if the site's attempt to reach one million followers will succeed, as both Ashton Kutcher and CNN are expected to reach the magic number later Thursday. However, some statistics showed they may actually reach it in time if the support continues to build up.
It appears to be the first attempt of its kind on the social networking website.
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