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Netflix's The Most Hated Man on the Internet, featuring Hunter Moore's story, has become the talk of the town.
Moore, who created a "revenge p*rn" website, acquired quite the stardom during his heydays. The latest docuseries explores his rise to fame and subsequent downfall, and is peppered with victim accounts.
It must be noted that Netflix's The Most Hated Man on the Internet, failed to represent Moore's motives behind creating the "revenge p*rn" website in the first place. Other than money-making, bullying, and fun purposes, the backstory seems somewhat incomplete and flawed.
Apart from the evident misogyny, another thing that was adamantly and abundantly circulated throughout the three episodes of the limited series was the obvious victim blaming that occurred every time a woman tried to speak up. In this case, people unaffacted by the crimes took it upon themselves to blame those already suffering, all the while praising and supporting Moore.
Hunter Moore manipulated his followers and victims alike
Hunter Moore's story started when he manipulated Charles Evans to hack into people's accounts and steal pictures in exchange for money. He would then have the pictures posted on his website, IsAnyoneUp.com, for the world to see. Needless to say, he did not care about others' sentiments. Money and the five minutes of fame that came along with the notoriety were the only two things that mattered to him.
Shockingly, the world of the internet was very different back then. It was a cruel place where people believed in feeding off of others' fears and trauma.
Moore gradually acquired a loyal and devoted fan following called "The Family," which some referred to as the criminal's cult group. The people involved would willingly perform disturbing acts upon Hunter's request. He was deemed the "master of manipulation."
The so-called King's mind-games were trickier than people had anticipated. One of his victims, Destiny, encountered this manipulation firsthand. As per the series, the woman was manipulated into performing s*xually explicit acts on webcam and was promised money and fame in exchange. She never received either. Destiny says in the documentary:
"I never got any money from Hunter ever. But he did offer me a t-shirt."
People wanted to be with him, be like him, and worship him. They called him "father," "king," "God," etc. Hunter Moore controlled a generation of internet users into believing that his actions were just. With the blind support of the website's mob, his evident lack of empathy became a source of entertainment for people.
How the blame was shifted from Hunter Moore to the victims
Given everyone's reactions to the scandal, it seemed as if Hunter Moore's manipulation spilled out of people's phones and computer screens and went into their heads. While Hunter's followers openly ridiculed and mocked the women and men in the pictures on the website, people outside the website also adopted an attitude which blamed the victims and blatantly questioned, "Why would you take a picture like this?"
When Charlotte Laws stepped up for her daughter's safety and privacy, people seemed to pay very little or no attention at all to the fact that half of the victims landed on the website without consenting to it. Their accounts were hacked, but people only wanted to participate by blaming those already suffering.
However, things started turning in favor of the victims when Moore's internet persona failed to translate into the world of television. He was seen as a predator on the national platform after appearing on the Anderson Copper Show. Unseen forces and allies soon started making moves against Moore, which led to his ultimate downfall.
However, the Netflix docuseries, while exploring the story in detail, says little to nothing about Moore's past or his psyche to provide an explanation concerning his actions. It fails to provide answers to significant questions such as "why is he the way he is?", making it difficult for the audience to comprehend his motives clearly.
Watch Hunter Moore's complete journey from "internet famous" to The Most Hated Man on the Internet on Netflix now.
