4chan: the reason for the crash and possible hacking in April 2025 — details
16 april 2025 в 02:13
In April 2025, 4chan, an online forum mainly used by young men and gamers, experienced a malfunction. The malfunction occurred a few months after several other social media platforms faced various issues. Shortly after the start of the malfunction on 4chan, users began to speculate a possible hacking scenario. So, is 4chan still not working, and has it been hacked?
Learn more about the online forum below.
4chan was founded in 2003 by entrepreneur and internet developer Christopher Poole. At that time, Poole was just a teenager. 4chan started as a forum for discussing anime and manga among specific fandoms, but turned into an imageboard where extremely right-wing users shared controversial posts. Most controversial images and memes were removed by moderators.
Additionally, 4chan is mainly used by young men. One of the most controversial cases on the platform was the 2014 «Gamergate», - where male users shared a stream of misogynistic messages and campaigns against women. As a result, an separate platform, 8chan, was created, but it is not owned by the same group as 4chan.
Reports of the malfunction on 4chan exceeded 1100 on the evening of April 14, 2015. The next day, the number of reports decreased, but the site remained inaccessible to many until noon on April 15.
At the time of publication, 4chan had not disclosed the reason for the malfunction of its website. However, as most internet users know, several technological and social media platforms have recently experienced widespread malfunctions, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp from Meta, as well as X (formerly known as Twitter). In March 2025, X owner Elon Musk stated that the platform had fallen victim to a cyberattack.
It is unclear whether 4chan was hacked, but rumors quickly spread on social media about the site ceasing to function. On Reddit, one user wrote that, although unconfirmed, «the site’s source code, user names, email addresses, and possibly even IP addresses were leaked».
At the time of publication, 4chan had not publicly addressed the rumors of a hack
Learn more about the online forum below.
4chan was founded in 2003 by entrepreneur and internet developer Christopher Poole. At that time, Poole was just a teenager. 4chan started as a forum for discussing anime and manga among specific fandoms, but turned into an imageboard where extremely right-wing users shared controversial posts. Most controversial images and memes were removed by moderators.
Additionally, 4chan is mainly used by young men. One of the most controversial cases on the platform was the 2014 «Gamergate», - where male users shared a stream of misogynistic messages and campaigns against women. As a result, an separate platform, 8chan, was created, but it is not owned by the same group as 4chan.
Reports of the malfunction on 4chan exceeded 1100 on the evening of April 14, 2015. The next day, the number of reports decreased, but the site remained inaccessible to many until noon on April 15.
At the time of publication, 4chan had not disclosed the reason for the malfunction of its website. However, as most internet users know, several technological and social media platforms have recently experienced widespread malfunctions, including Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp from Meta, as well as X (formerly known as Twitter). In March 2025, X owner Elon Musk stated that the platform had fallen victim to a cyberattack.
It is unclear whether 4chan was hacked, but rumors quickly spread on social media about the site ceasing to function. On Reddit, one user wrote that, although unconfirmed, «the site’s source code, user names, email addresses, and possibly even IP addresses were leaked».
At the time of publication, 4chan had not publicly addressed the rumors of a hack
© Zhinobaeva Margarita
