Imageboard 4chan, an often toxic, alt right 4chan, the notorious image-sharing website, came back online days after a major web outage started on April 14. The site’s month-plus absence had users primarily guessing and worrying. Even journalist Ryan Broderick went so far as to write a premature obituary in Wired, announcing, “4chan is dead.” These breaks were especially concerning, given that as of Sunday afternoon on our latest site status checker test, the boards and front page were still operational. However, reposting, artwork and even thumbnails still didn’t work.
The outage came on the heels of a dramatic high-profile April 2025 hack. An attacker with a UK IP address took advantage of this website’s vulnerability by uploading a malicious PDF. The hacker had access to 4chan’s security infrastructure, including at least one of their upstream servers. They leaked database tables and a large chunk of the site’s source code. The hacker then released a trove of other sensitive information, including a list of moderators and internal Discord communications.
One anonymous janitor from 4chan assured everyone that they were real, reporting that he was feeling “safe” in assuming that the leaked data was authentic. In response to the hack and the ensuing chaos, 4chan’s team took to social media platform X, issuing a defiant statement that referenced the Wired article’s claim.
“Wired says ‘4chan is dead.’ Is that so?” – 4chan team
During this critical transition, the collaborative team proved their dedication to the environmental justice site and its vibrant community.
“No other website can replace it, or this community. No matter how hard it is, we are not giving up.” – 4chan team
The official blog post on 4chan explained in depth why they chose to hack the site. It identified weaknesses that led to the breach. Their team raised their concerns that they couldn’t afford to be financially afloat. According to them, the lack of qualified workforce and the lack of money from advertisers and payment creators were key factors in their difficulties.
“Ultimately this problem was caused by having insufficient skilled man-hours available to update our code and infrastructure, and being starved of money for years by advertisers, payment providers, and service providers who had succumbed to external pressure campaigns.” – 4chan team
The heavy lifting of this blog post was getting advertisers. Activists have successfully pressured these companies, causing them to be very nervous to partner with 4chan.
“Advertisers and payment providers willing to work with 4chan are rare, and are quickly pressured by activists into cancelling their services.” – 4chan team
As 4chan navigates its return to stability, its future remains uncertain amid ongoing scrutiny and challenges surrounding its operational integrity. For the site, it’s an existential challenge as it looks to continue rehabilitating lost user trust. Beyond that, it needs to promote safety in the wake of this tragedy.