The convicted criminal’s downfall is covered in a Netflix documentary
Following The Tinder Swindler and the online manhunt of Don’t Fuck With Cats, Netflix has released another docuseries about the darkest corners of online activity. The Most Hated Man On The Internet, a title handed to Hunter Moore by Rolling Stone in 2012, follows the genesis of his revenge porn website IsAnyoneUp.com and his subsequent downfall.
The three-part series features interviews with the victims he profited from and exposed, along with Charlotte Laws, the mother of one of the victims who investigated Moore for over two years to bring him to justice. Following his release from prison in 2017 though, where is Hunter Moore today?
Who is Hunter Moore?
The full story
From Sacramento, California, Hunter Moore created IsAnyoneUp.com – described as one of the earliest examples of a revenge porn website. The site, launched in 2010, allowed users to share sexually explicit images of people online without their consent, along with personal information like names and addresses. According to the victims, Moore, aged 26 at the time, refused to take down the pictures despite their requests.
According to Rolling Stone, “15 to 30” pictures a day were posted to the site over its 16-month life span. Despite numerous cease-and-desist letters (which he sometimes responded to with a simple “LOL”), Moore claimed he was protected by the Communications Decency Act of 1996, which doesn’t allow websites to be held accountable for user-submitted content, the same laws which protect social media sites like Facebook.
Moore revelled in his rising fame with numerous interviews and media appearances, including on Anderson Cooper’s CNN chat show in 2011 where he was confronted by two victims and argued it was their fault they had allowed the pictures to be taken. He dubbed himself a “professional life ruiner” and compared himself to Charles Manson, attracting “followers” who supported him. Facebook banned him for life, while PayPal blocked his account.
Charlotte Laws, the mother of a victim who had her photos posted onto the site in January 2012 after her email and Facebook accounts were hacked, compiled evidence of other hacked victims and handed it to the FBI. Speaking to The Guardian, Charlotte, who had been shrugged off by police beforehand, said the FBI only took the case seriously due to the hacking angle. “If a hacker hadn’t been involved, there would have been no case to answer and the site would still be up. But because there was, they took it seriously.”
The FBI officially began an investigation into Moore later in 2012. After becoming aware of the investigation, Moore closed the site in April 2012 and sold it to an anti-bullying group. Charlotte continued to help compile evidence for the FBI over the next two years.
In January 2014, Moore and Charles Evens were arrested on charges of conspiracy, seven counts of unauthorised access to a protected computer to obtain information, and seven counts of aggravated identity theft.
In a statement outlining the charges, the FBI wrote: “To obtain more photos to populate the site, Moore allegedly instructed Evens to gain unauthorised access to – in other words, to hack into – victims’ email accounts.
“Moore sent payments to Evens in exchange for nude photos obtained unlawfully from the victims’ accounts. Moore then posted the illegally obtained photos on his website without the victims’ consent. The indictment alleges that Evens hacked into email accounts belonging to hundreds of victims.”
In February 2015, Moore pleaded guilty to identity theft and aiding and abetting in the unauthorised access of a computer. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He also received a $2,000 fine and $145.70 in restitution fees.
Evens, who pleaded guilty to the same two felony counts, was sentenced to 25 months in federal prison.
Where is Hunter Moore now?
He’s released some projects
Moore was released from prison in May 2017. While he’s mostly withdrawn from public life, he’s promoted some projects since. He released a single in 2017 titled ‘Make The Internet Great Again’ (as reported by Substream magazine), along with a book titled Is Anyone Up!? The Story Behind Revenge Porn in 2018.
On social media, he described that he’s “living my life peacefully now” in April this year.
“Look guys, I did my time behind bars,” Moore wrote on Twitter. “Living my life peacefully now, it’s been a decade about what happened, some of you loves me and most of you hates me, if you want me to apologise well I wouldn’t. I don’t owe anyone anything.”
Since the series debuted on Netflix this week, Moore has tweeted several times about it. In a video posted on release day (July 27), he reflected on his previous fame, calling himself “a little prick” and asking users to “go watch” the show. “If you love me, you hate me… tell me what you think… and let’s fight about it in the comments”, he added.
Was Hunter Moore involved in the documentary?
Initially, he was
According to Netflix, Moore initially agreed to participate in The Most Hated Man On The Internet documentary, “but later declined” for unknown reasons.
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