Episode 390: 4chan, WikiLeaks, and Pizzagate - Part 2

A frog with his pants pulled down. A suspiciously powerful Reddit account. And one of the craziest news days in American history. Who knew the internet could be so powerful in the real world? This week's episode is 4chan, WikiLeaks, and Pizzagate: Part 2.

SOURCES
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Study finds fringe communities on Reddit and 4chan have high influence on flow of alternative news to Twitter, Phys.org: https://phys.org/news/2017-11-fringe-reddit-4chan-high-alternative.html

How Gamergate Pioneered the Backlash Against Diversity, The Walrus: https://thewalrus.ca/how-gamergate-pioneered-the-backlash-against-diversity-in-technology/

Incoherent Conspiracy Suggests Ghislaine Maxwell Is a Powerful Redditor, Vice:

Did Maxwell Secretly Run Reddit?, NetLoss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1FA7AV_WfM

Once-comic Pepe the Frog has been declared a hate symbol, Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/09/28/once-comic-pepe-the-frog-has-been-declared-a-hate-symbol/

Katy Perry Pepe Post, X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/katyperry/status/531011411720151041

How October 7th, 2016 Shaped The Course of American History, Rolling Stone: https://archive.is/SUl3j

Chat logs show how 4chan users created #GamerGate controversy, Ars Technica: https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2014/09/new-chat-logs-show-how-4chan-users-pushed-gamergate-into-the-national-spotlight/

GamerGate, Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Gamergate-campaign

Ctrl-Alt-Del: GamerGate as a Precursor to the Rise of the Alt-Right, ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327157014_Ctrl-Alt-Del_GamerGate_as_a_precursor_to_the_rise_of_the_alt-right

From Digital Resentment to Radicalization: GamerGate as a Gateway to the Alt-Right, ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/372396983_4chumblr's_divorce_Revisiting_the_online_culture_wars_through_the_2014_Tumblr-4chan_raids

GamerGate at 10, Substack/Caitlin Dewey: https://linksiwouldgchatyou.substack.com/p/gamergate-at-10

How GamerGate Foreshadowed the Toxic Hellscape the Internet Has Become, CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/23/us/gamergate-harassment-reddit-twitter-cec

Steve Bannon and These Rootless White Males, davidhadwen.com: https://davidhadwen.com/2022/03/01/steve-bannon-and-these-rootless-white-males/

Steve Bannon Saw an Army in Gamergate, Substack/Mark Ramm: https://theramm.substack.com/p/steve-bannon-saw-an-army-in-gamergate

Monster Power: Steve Bannon's Crucial Role in the Radicalisation of the Far Right, Byline Times: https://bylinetimes.com/2019/10/02/monster-power-steve-bannons-crucial-role-in-the-radicalisation-of-the-far-right/

Steve Bannon and Trump's Relationship: A Shakespearean Irony Told in Devil's Bargain, NPR: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/537885042

How the Far Right Borrowed Its Online Moves from Gamers, Axios: https://www.axios.com/2022/10/20/gamergate-right-online-harassment-joan-donovan-meme-wars

4chan Images Match Grisly Washington Slaying Scene Investigators, NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/4chan-images-match-grisly-washington-slaying-scene-investigators-n241806

The Evolution of the Pepe the Frog Meme, Chatham House: https://www.chathamhouse.org/publications/the-world-today/2023-04/evolution-pepe-frog-meme

How Pepe the Frog Became a Nazi Trump Supporter and Alt-Right Symbol, The Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-pepe-the-frog-became-a-nazi-trump-supporter-and-alt-right-symbol/

Pepe the Frog: Yes, a Harmless Cartoon Can Become an Alt-Right Mascot, ADL: https://www.adl.org/resources/news/pepe-frog-yes-harmless-cartoon-can-become-alt-right-mascot

How Roger Stone Interacted with Russia's Guccifer and WikiLeaks, Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/how-stone-interacted-russias-guccifer-and-wikileaks-673268

Timeline: Roger Stone and His Interactions with WikiLeaks, Russians, and More, Just Security: https://www.justsecurity.org/45435/timeline-roger-stone-russias-guccifer-2-0-wikileaks/

A Visual Guide to the Roger Stone-WikiLeaks Side of the Russia Investigation, Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2018/11/28/visual-guide-roger-stone-wikileaks-side-russia-investigation/

Roger Stone Repeatedly Claimed to Know of Forthcoming WikiLeaks Dumps, CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/20/politics/kfile-roger-stone-wikileaks-claims/index.html

Well Done: Stone Indictment Details His Contacts with Trump Camp About WikiLeaks, NBC News: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/well-done-stone-indictment-details-his-contacts-trump-camp-about-n962636

WikiLeaks Releases Podesta Emails Shortly After Access Hollywood Tape Released, The Moscow Project: https://themoscowproject.org/collusion/wikileaks-releases-podesta-emails-shortly-access-hollywood-tapes-released/

It's True: WikiLeaks Dumped Podesta Emails Hour After Trump Video Surfaced, PolitiFact: https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2016/dec/18/john-podesta/its-true-wikileaks-dumped-podesta-emails-hour-afte/

The John Podesta Emails Released by WikiLeaks, CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-john-podesta-emails-released-by-wikileaks/

Hillary Clinton Emails: What WikiLeaks Reveals on Campaign, Time: https://time.com/4523749/hillary-clinton-wikileaks-leaked-emails-john-podesta/

Study Finds Fringe Communities on Reddit and 4chan Have High Influence on Flow of Alternative News to Twitter, Phys.org/University of Alabama at Birmingham: https://phys.org/news/2017-11-fringe-reddit-4chan-high-alternative.html

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