Update: Emma Watson nude photos threat may be elaborate PR stunt

Update: Emma Watson nude photos threat may be elaborate PR stunt
By Euronews
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The website promising to leak nude pictures of actress Emma Watson , even displaying a countdown and the 4chan logo – an image board allegedly involved in the leaking of hacked pictures of stars -, has changed its content overnight.

The URL emmayouarenext.com now redicts to rantic.com, which claims to be “social media marketing enterprise that has participated in some of the most viral campaigns and music videos”.

Rantic’s homepage now sports a #shutdown4chan title, with a barred 4chan logo, and offers users the possibility to send a letter to the White House calling for the shutting down of 4chan.

However, reports speculate the situation may be more complicated that what it seems.

First, the first website to report on the Emma Watson nude photos threats is FoxWeekly. This website has reportedly infriged copyright numerous time, lifting entire articles from legitimate news media. It also has been created by a person who, under several aliases, worked for a company known as SocialVevo which specialised in what media have called “hoax economy.”

Foxweekly’ first report on Emma Watson nude pictures is now conveniently offline.

This is a developing story, and in the meantime, speculations abound.

One of them suggest the entire operation is the work not of a PR agency, but of a master troll locking horns with 4chan users. This version is supported by the series of bizarre tweets an account claiming to be Rantic’s has posted over the course of the last couple hours.

Dear humans, In the digital age we have a new kind of terror going on and it is called 4chan,Help us take down the terrorist group 4chan.

— Rantic (@RanticMarketing) 24 Septembre 2014

We fully support Emma and her campaign #heforshe, Hopefully 4chan users will convert to feminism right before it goes down.

— Rantic (@RanticMarketing) 24 Septembre 2014

In addition, he model letter includes statements such as “the recent 4chan celebrity nude leaks in the past 2 months have been an invasion of privacy and is also clear indication that the internet NEEDS to be censored.” Such statements is bound to inflame 4chan, especially its /b/, random, forum which is equally controversial as it is attached to a free Internet and to freedom of speech.

Under the line is the article euronews originally published under the title “Emma Watson threatened with naked photos leak after UN equality speech”

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Emma Watson threatened with naked photos leak after UN equality speech

The actress Emma Watson has been targeted by hackers threatening to release nude pictures of her after she made a speech promoting gender equality.

Over the weekend, she addressed UN delegates in New York supporting the HeForShe campaign.

The UN project supports women’s equality around the globe. Watson is a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women and spoke out about the negative impact rigid gender roles have on both men and women.

“Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong… It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, not as two opposing sets of ideals,” she declared.

Watson called on both women and men to reclaim “feminism” and invited men around the world to pledge to take a stand for gender equality. More than 65,000 men have signed up so far

Hours after her speech, a web page titled “Emma You Are Next” appeared, threatening that nude photos of her would be released at midnight on Friday. The page has the logo of internet forum 4chan which is said to have hosted recent leaks of naked celebrity photos.

Earlier this month, the Harry Potter star tweeted in defence of celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and Kim Kardashian, after dozens of naked images of them were leaked.

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Watson said: “Even worse than seeing women’s privacy violated on social media is reading the accompanying comments that show such a lack of empathy.

Even worse than seeing women's privacy violated on social media is reading the accompanying comments that show such a lack of empathy.

— Emma Watson (@EmWatson) September 1, 2014

Watson has herself become the victim of internet trolls’ vitriol. One 4chan user wrote “She makes stupid feminist speeches at UN, and now her nudes will be online.”

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