YMB: When did you realize that many of Hunter Moore's pictures were hacked?
CL: Within a few days of learning about my daughter's picture, I realized a large number of photos on his site had been stolen. My daughter's friend, Susan, had also been hacked. I found her image on Hunter's website and phoned her right away. I didn't know the percentage of hacked photos, but decided to find out. I began my own investigation of Moore and his website. I called some of people depicted on his site to find out how their photos had been obtained. I was shocked to learn that 40 percent had been hacked. Twelve percent were photoshopped; in other words, their faces were morphed onto someone else's nude body. It was important for me to investigate how the photos were making their way to the website because at this point, reporters were saying revenge porn was only about angry ex-boyfriends. They refused to believe it had anything to do with hacking or photoshopping (also known as "deep fakes"). When the media confronted Moore with my accusation of hacking, he denied any wrongdoing. He claimed he did not hack or pay a hacker. He said he got way more submissions than he could use. This was not true. He did not get the kind of content he wanted. He and his followers wanted nude photos of women in high profile jobs who had something to lose; this is what increased page views.
YMB: You began what you called "Operation No Moore," which involved a lot of hard work. How did you find the patience to fight against revenge-porn?
CL: "Operation No Moore" is what I called my investigation. I knew the only way to defeat Moore and the world of revenge porn was to stay dedicated to the cause. Endurance was critical. Moore was obsessed with what he did, so I needed to be equally focused in order to prevail against him. I knew perseverance was the key to success.
YMB: Tell me about how the underground group, Anonymous, helped you.
CL: Anonymous contacted me when they noticed online backlash. I was receiving attacks on social media from Moore and his followers. Some of the tweets and messages were death threats. Anonymous phoned me and offered assistance. They said they'd crash Moore's server and dox him on the next day. They did. They put his personal information online, including his social security number.
YMB: Tell me more about the threats you received. What was the most difficult?
CL: I received computer viruses and death threats. It was worrisome because I didn't know who was threatening me. The thugs were faceless. I didn't know if they were dangerous criminals or kids joking around. Moore and his followers used fear and intimidation to ward off enemies, and I became their number one adversary. My husband was upset that I was taking on this cause because he thought it was dangerous. He said, "You have psychopaths after you" and constantly asked me to stop. The drama reached its height when a stalker appeared at my home. I chased this this guy away. I was so fed up by this point that I didn't even consider whether he might have a weapon. He sped away, freaked out, when I tried to confront him. I chased behind his car for maybe 30 or 40 yards. I suppose it looked a bit funny, but it was not funny at the time. It turned out this guy was brave when he was faceless on the internet, but scared when face-to-face with me. To my knowledge, he never returned.
YMB: Do you think this trend could have been more quickly stopped with the support of Google?
CL: When all of this started, assistance from search engines, hosting companies and others would have been welcomed and might have somewhat curtailed revenge porn. But Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act made it difficult. Section 230 turns websites into platform providers, not content providers. It relinquishes them of responsibility. Today, however, many online companies and legislators have stepped up to the plate on this issue. We currently have laws in 46 states against revenge porn and a federal bill has been introduced. Also, various countries have laws in place, such as Israel and the UK. Google, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, and other companies now have policies and online procedures to help victims get their compromising content removed. We've made tremendous progress on this issue over the past eight years. I also appreciate the fact that the media continues to make folks aware.
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