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E-Vigilantes Take Justice Into Their Own Virtual Hands

by Terrence O'Brien on March 27, 2009 at 04:26 PM



The Internet has empowered people to do things they wouldn't normally have had the chance to do: Write, sell photographs, start a business, and, in some cases, become a crusader for justice. Internet vigilantism isn't necessarily new, but it has grown in power and popularity as the Web has become more social and access to it has become more widespread.

The folks at Cracked, purveyors of hilarious Internet lists, compiled their favorite tales of the Internet masses taking justice into their own virtual hands. This list includes vigilante targets such as Sasha Gomez, who, after stealing a Sidekick, found herself the target of an Internet harassment campaign, and NYPD officer Patrick Pogan, who ended up a YouTube celebrity after knocking the crap out of a cyclist for no good reason, secured places for themselves in the list.

Check out the read link for six more examples of e-vigilantism. [From: Cracked]


8 More Internet Vigilantes

    Cracked may have collected the most famous cases of Internet vigilantism, but they're not the only tales of netziens bringing people to justice. Check out the gallery for eight more examples the Web rising up to rain punishment down on wrong-doers.

    An entire subculture has evolved around the idea of scamming back those 419 scammers by wasting their time trading e-mails with out ever giving them the information they want. Check out 419eater.com for some great examples.

    The Chinese take fidelity very seriously, as evidenced by this tale of a college student who was chased out of his school and eventually out of town after a man accused him, online, of having an affair with his wife.

    Jesse McPherson used the power of his blog to reclaim a stolen Xbox, TV, and Laptop after Philadelphia police essentially wrote off the chances of finding the culprit and and the goods.

    Stephen Fowler learned the hard way that if you're going to be an unflinching, miserable, son-of-a-b*** don't do it where the Internet can see you. Everyone with even a tenuous connection to the reality TV star has had to denounce him following his appearance on 'Wife Swap.'

    HollaBack is a series of sites where woman post cell phone pics of jerks who harass them in public and make cat calls, embarrassing them and exposing them for the douche bags they are.

    Angry, anonymous, security experts took out the servers of Web hosting companies McColo and Intercage, which were widely known to be purveyors of malware, spam, and viruses.

    Anonymous, a dedicated Internet vigilante group, took out the Web site of the pseudo-religion Scientology after it started demanding sites like YouTube take down material relating to its practices.


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Tags: cracked, internet celebrities, InternetCelebrities, revenge, vigilante, vigilantism, viral

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