Titled ‘The Most Hated Man on the Internet’, the new docuseries from Netflix tells the story of Hunter Moore, who profited from sharing explicit images of women and men online without their permission.
In recent years, Netflix has made a name for itself not just as a streaming platform delivering some of the world’s biggest films and blockbuster action movies as a means of entertainment, but as one committed to unearthing some of the world’s biggest scandals and controversies. From Tiger King to Bad Vegan, these stunning documentary series have been able to revisit some of the biggest names in pop culture and discover new information about the events surrounding their lives.
Now, Netflix is set to release a new docuseries titled The Most Hated Man on the Internet. Only in this instance, the subject matter isn’t one that proves as entertaining as it does horrifying. Focusing on the story of Hunter Moore, aka the self-proclaimed “King of Revenge Porn” and “professional life ruiner,” the series will examine how Moore came to profit off sharing explicit images of women and men online, without their permission.
In 2010, Moore started a website called IsAnyoneUp, getting 14,000 hits immediately after posting a naked picture of a girl he dated. It sparked a cruel mission to then share nude images of men and women – most of which had been submitted by disgruntled ex-boyfriends, who didn’t have permission from the source. Not surprisingly, the site was essentially one known for “revenge porn” even before the term came to be widely recognised and classed as a sexual offence in 2015.
According to Rolling Stone, Hunter didn’t just upload a naked image of women and men: he also put their full name, social media profile and city. It meant that the images then appeared in Google searches of the people, with immediate and significant consequences for the victims.
Across the three episodes, the series chronicles Hunter’s unapologetic crimes, and the story of one mother, Charlotte Laws, who relentlessly sought to take him down and bring justice to his victims, one of whom was her own daughter, Kayla. Charlotte spent two years building her own file on Hunter by speaking to 40 victims worldwide, before handing it over to the FBI in 2012.
“It’s pure misogyny. It’s about hating women. It’s about hurting them. That’s the whole purpose of the site. It wasn’t about the pictures…The thing is humiliating people.”
charlotte laws
As one victim recalls, “I wake up, and look at my phone, 200 notifications,” while another adds, “there I was, topless, multiple photos.” Others expressed that they felt “violated” and “humiliated” and that Hunter’s website was “destroying lives.”
Perhaps what is most distressing of all in the docuseries is the attitude of Hunter, who shows no remorse or regret over his actions. Archival footage shows an interview in which he declares, “Me and my friends would just post a bunch of girls, and I was, ‘Yo, I can make money off f****** people over.” He added, “Taking people down, it’s just too much fun,” going on to say, “Dude, without bullying, I don’t know what I’d do,” in another interview.
Despite such actions by Hunter being dismissed by the LA police force, it was the tireless campaign of Charlotte Laws that ultimately led to his downfall. He pleaded guilty to felony charges for aggravated identity theft and aiding and abetting in the unauthorised access of a computer in February 2015 and was sentenced to two years and six months in prison as well as a $2,000 fine. He came to be released in May 2017.
The docuseries is told through the eyes of Charlotte, with producer Vikki Miller expressing gratitude that it was Laws who voiced the series and not Hunter himself. “When Hunter pulled out, I was initially disappointed, but then I completely changed my mind and am so glad we ended up telling it through Charlotte Laws’ narrative.”
Miller added, “She’s an extraordinary character and fought extremely hard for justice to be done.”
The Most Hated Man on the Internet is now available to stream on Netflix.
Here’s what you need to know about revenge porn
What is revenge porn?
Revenge porn refers to the non-consensual distribution of nude or sexually explicit images. The term is somewhat problematic though, because it implies that motivations for distribution are exclusively about revenge, yet perpetrators may have diverse motivations beyond that. Some share images to blackmail or coerce a victim (as in the case of domestic violence) or for trade, for purchasing, for sexual gratification or to impress their mates.
Is revenge porn a criminal offence in Australia?
In Australia, there is a patchwork of civil and criminal laws that are applicable in cases of revenge porn and image-based sexual abuse cases. Under the federal Criminal Code Act 1995, it’s a criminal offence to use a carriage service to menace, harass or offend another person.
Currently only South Australia and Victoria have specific criminal laws in place for revenge-porn types of behaviours, while NSW is considering a possible new criminal offence to tackle image-based sexual abuse. The Northern Territory and Western Australia want to give victims better protection with the criminal law.
Who is affected by revenge porn?
According to figures from the UK, revenge porn victims have doubled in the last two years. Of the 2,000 people surveyed, more than 40 per cent knew someone who had been a victim of revenge porn and 22 per cent knew someone who had been threatened with revenge porn. About 40 per cent of threats came from an ex-partner, 18 per cent from a friend and 11 per cent from a family member.
Source @womenshealth.com.au: Read more at : womenalive.org
