 | |
| Abbreviation | GNAA |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2002; 23 years ago (2002)[1] |
| Type | Internet trolls |
| Purpose | Trolling |
| Affiliations | Goatse Security[2][3][4] |
| Website | www.gnaa.eu |
TheGay Nigger Association of America (GNAA) was anInternet trolling group. They targeted several prominent websites and internet personalities includingSlashdot,Wikipedia,CNN,Barack Obama,Alex Jones, and prominent members of theblogosphere. They also released software products, and leaked screenshots and information about upcoming operating systems. In addition, they maintained a software repository and awiki-based site dedicated to internet commentary.[5][6]
Members of the GNAA also foundedGoatse Security, agrey hat information security group. Members of Goatse Security released information in June 2010 about email addresses onAT&T's website from people who had subscribed to mobile data service using theiPad. After the vulnerability was disclosed, the then-president of the GNAA,weev, and a GNAA member, "JacksonBrown", were arrested.[7]
The group was run by a president.[4]New media researcherAndrew Lih stated that it was unclear whether or not there was initially a clearly defined group of GNAA members, or if founding and early members of the GNAA were online troublemakers united under the name in order to disrupt websites.[8] However, professorJodi Dean and Ross Cisneros claimed that they were an organized group of anti-blogging trolls.[5][9] Reporters also referred to the GNAA as a group.[10][11][12]
In her 2017 bookTroll Hunting, Australian journalistGinger Gorman identified the president of the GNAA as an individual fromColorado known as "Meepsheep".[13] Known former presidents of the GNAA were security researcher Jaime "asshurtmacfags" Cochran, who also co-founded the hacking group "Rustle League",[14] and "timecop", founder of the anime fansub group "Dattebayo".[13][15] Other members included former presidentAndrew "weev" Auernheimer, Daniel "JacksonBrown" Spitler,[7][16] and former spokesman Leon Kaiser.[17] GNAA has also been documented as having been loosely affiliated with the satirical wikiEncyclopedia Dramatica.[13]
The group's name incited controversy and was described as "causing immediate alarm in anyone with a semblance of good taste," "intentionally offensive",[8] and "spectacularly offensive".[10] The group denied allegations of racism and homophobia, explaining that the name was intended tosow disruption on the internet and challengesocial norms (claiming it was derived from the 1992 Danish satiricalblaxploitation filmGayniggers from Outer Space).[5] In an interview on the OfFenzive podcast, president Weev recalled an anecdote where the organization did actually once contain a member that was a homosexual black male.[18]
The GNAA used many different methods of trolling. One was to simply "crapflood" a weblog's comment form with text consisting ofrepeated words and phrases.[5][10] On Wikipedia, members of the group created an article about the group, while adhering to Wikipedia's rules and policies, a process Andrew Lih says "essentially [used] the system against itself".[8] Another method included attacking manyInternet Relay Chat channels and networks using differentIRC flooding techniques.[19]
The GNAA also producedshock sites containingmalware.[5][20] One such site, "Last Measure", contained embedded malware that opened up "an endless cascade of pop-up windows displaying pornography or horrific medical pictures".[20][21] They also performedproof of concept demonstrations.[19][22] These actions occasionally interrupted the normal operation of popular websites.
In July 2004, two GNAA members submitted leaked screenshots of the upcoming operating systemMac OS X v10.4[23] to the popularMacintosh news websiteMacRumors.[24]
In June 2005, the GNAA announced that it had created a Mac OS X Tiger release forIntelx86 processors which caught media attention from various sources.[25][26][27] The next day, the supposed leak was mentioned on theG4 television showAttack of the Show.[28] TheISO image released viaBitTorrent merely booted ashock image[28][29] instead of the leaked operating system.[30]
On February 3, 2007, the GNAA successfully managed to convince CNN reporterPaula Zahn that "one in three Americans" believe that theSeptember 11, 2001, terror attacks werecarried out by Israeli agents.[31] CNN subsequently ran a story erroneously reporting this, involving a round-table discussion regarding antisemitism and an interview with the father of a Jewish 9/11 victim.[32] The GNAA-owned website said that "over 4,000" Jews were absent from work at the World Trade Center on 9/11.[32]
On February 11, 2007, an attack was launched on the website of US presidential candidate (and future US president)Barack Obama, where the group's name was caused to appear on the website's front page.[33]
In late January 2010, the GNAA used a then-obscure phenomenon known as cross-protocol scripting (a combination ofcross-site scripting andinter-protocol exploitation) to cause users of theFreenode IRC network to unknowingly flood IRC channels after visiting websites containing inter-protocol exploits.[11] They also have used a combination of inter-protocol, cross-site, andinteger overflow bugs in both theFirefox andSafari web browsers to flood IRC channels.[12]
On October 30, the GNAA began a trolling campaign in the aftermath ofHurricane Sandy on the US East Coast, spreading fake photographs andtweets of alleged looters in action. After the GNAA published a press-release detailing the incident,[34] mainstream media outlets began detailing how the prank was carried out.[35][36]
On December 3, the GNAA was identified as being responsible for across-site scripting attack onTumblr that resulted in thousands of Tumblr blogs being defaced with a pro-GNAA message.[37]
In January 2013, the GNAA collaborated with users on the imageboard4chan to start a "#cut4bieber" trend on Twitter, encouraging fans of Canadian pop singerJustin Bieber to practiceself-harm.[38][39]
From 2014 into 2015, GNAA members began playing an active role in theGamergate controversy, sabotaging efforts made by pro-Gamergate parties. Several GNAA members were able to gain administrative access to8chan's (an imageboard associated with Gamergate) primary Gamergate board, which they disrupted and ultimately closed. The GNAA also claimed responsibility for releasing private information related to many pro-Gamergate activists.[40]
On October 13, 2016, GNAA member Meepsheep vandalized Wikipedia to cause the entries forBill andHillary Clinton to be overlapped with pornographic images and a message endorsing Republican presidential candidateDonald Trump.[41]
In August 2017, GNAA was named as having been involved in a feud between employees of the popular dating appBumble, and tenants of the apartment building inAustin, Texas where the company was, at the time, illegally headquartered.[42] Joseph Bernstein ofBuzzFeed News reported that one of the building's residents contacted GNAA to "fight back" against Bumble after multiple complaints regarding the company's activities were ignored. The dispute resulted in Bumble choosing to relocate from the building, which GNAA claimed credit for in a press release the group spammed across several websites viaclickjacking.[42]
In December 2009, several members of the GNAA with expertise ingrey hat[43] computer security research created the "Goatse Security" group to uncoversecurity vulnerabilities.[44] The members chose to use a separate name to publish their work because they thought that they would not be taken seriously when publishing under "GNAA".[16]
In June 2010, Goatse Security attracted mainstream media attention for their discovery of at least 114,000 unsecuredemail addresses[45][46] registered to Apple iPad devices for early adopters of Apple's 3G iPad service.[3][47] The data was aggregated from AT&T's own servers by feeding a publicly available script withHTTP requests containing randomly generatedICC-IDs, which would then return the associated email address. TheFBI soon investigated the incident. This investigation led to the arrest of then-GNAA President,[48] Andrew 'weev' Auernheimer, on unrelateddrug charges[49] resulting from an FBI search of his home.[16][50]
In January 2011, the Department of Justice announced that Auernheimer would be charged with one count of conspiracy to access a computer without authorization and one count of fraud.[51] A co-defendant, Daniel Spitler, was released on bail.[52][53] In June 2011, Spitler pleaded guilty on both counts after reaching a plea agreement with US attorneys.[54] On November 20, 2012, Auernheimer was found guilty of one count of identity fraud and one count of conspiracy to access a computer without authorization.[55] On April 11, 2014, these convictions were overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on the basis that the New Jersey venue was improper and Auernheimer was subsequently released from prison.[56]