Justin Ling🆒️Since last year, I've been obsessed with teasing apart who really owns — and finances — 4chan.
Well, I finally cracked it. https://www.wired.com/story/4chan-good-smile/
In the name of transparency, I've posted the full partnership agreement to by Substack: https://www.bugeyedandshameless.com/p/the-4chan-files-good-smile-company
Gersande La Flèche
Pxtl"4chan was funded by a toy company?"
huh, that's surprising.
*reads more*.
"4chan was funded by a toy company that sells scantily-clad statues of big-busted waifus for nerds."
That makes sense.
i_give_u_worms
Marta Threadbare@Pxtl @justinling not surprising at all since basically their only ad sponsor for a decade before that company's involvement was a japanese-themed store specialized in fetish things.
Kargas ☀️🌱⚙️📖🎲@justinling This is an important story. Thank you so much!
Alice GG@justinling so my nendoroids were actually financing stochastic terrorism? fml
"Late last year, Nishimura was asked about 4chan’s role in inspiring the attack. The site owner brushed aside the connection, suggesting that 4chan’s promotion of violent white supremacist ideology was no different than former president Donald Trump’s rhetoric."
Dude that's not a defense it's a confession
Richard W. Woodley ELBOWS UP 🇨🇦🌹🚴♂️📷 🗺️@justinling
"The site owner brushed aside the connection, suggesting that 4chan’s promotion of violent white supremacist ideology was no different than former president Donald Trump’s rhetoric.". >> If the president does it it cannot be evil.
"The site owner brushed aside the connection, suggesting that 4chan’s promotion of violent white supremacist ideology was no different than former president Donald Trump’s rhetoric.". >> If the president does it it cannot be evil.
Alison Creekside@justinling
Hiroyuki Nishimura"s "near total invulnerability to shame is a kind of superpower in Japan ... a national antihero ... In a national poll, high school students said he was their top pick for prime minister."
NYT: In the U.S., His Site Has Been Linked to Massacres. In Japan, He’s a Star.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/18/business/4chan-hiroyuki-nishimura.html
I originally misread your tagline on this story as: "Good Smile, which licenses toy production for Disney, was an investor in the controversial image *beard*"
Aral Balkan@justinling Excellent piece. Thank you.
PS. Pleasantly surprised to see Wired publishing actual journalism. I thought they only published surveillance capitalism press releases.
Aral Balkan (@[email protected])
This: “The fact that 4chan became both more hateful and more prominent after 2015 is a feature, not a bug … It was all business.” https://www.wired.com/story/4chan-good-smile/ Just reminded me of this: “International Business Machines, and its president Thomas J. Watson, committed genocide by any standard. It was never about the antisemitism. It was never about the National Socialism. It was always about the money. Business was their middle name.” https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ibm-holocaust_b_1301691 #4chan #ibm #holocaust #business
J.H.NoyesThey're unrepentant amplifiers of immunofabulist narratives, too.
TC Won't Give In To Lies
SHODAN 
@justinling Can only hope that some consequences come from this and the site disappears. It has no doubt help toxify the culture of many things considered traditionally "nerdy" over the years I've noticed (particularly video games) and with it gone we can cleanse the spaces affected by them. Probably a long shot it happens but it needs to be done
We Can Be Gyros@justinling "legal filings, they allege Good Smile was responsible for the distribution of potentially obscene sexually explicit anime products and merchandise ("lolicon") and that it, unbeknownst to its family-friendly corporate partners, was funding 4chan."
ProtectiveHen
Anonmouse@justinling Great article; crazy story. Thank you.
I think you or the copy editor might have made a small error. It says “largest licensee” where I think it should be licensor, if Good Smile is licensing the rights to sell Disney IP.
@onelesstweeter ooh, that's a good catch. Thank you!
Jake 
@justinling
Got me to pay for Wired. Nice work.
Got me to pay for Wired. Nice work.
eswillwalkerThanks to @justinling
I am interested to learn from you that:
The Japanese company that underwrites 4chan, where users promote domestic terror attacks, markets Nendoroid collectable figurines for anime enthusiasts and dozens of toys and figurines from Disney properties, like Spider-Man, Buzz Lightyear, and Mickey Mouse.
We must ask Disney to break its association with this company!
Kevin Karhan 
@justinling if you think #4chan is interesting, then take a look at #KiwiFarms...
Just a heads up: It's literally the sewage pipe of 4chan's toiler, where people too toxic for it or MumsNet self-deport to...
Glyph@justinling “After being alerted to those ties by WIRED, they said, Disney has opted not to renew its deal with Good Smile.”
This is an understatement, but: Good job.
Shannon@justinling Huh... didn't see that one coming. Great job. This is the journalism we need. How can we fund more of this?
neatchee@justinling what the actual fuck, Good Smile is a 30% stakeholder in 4chan??? Fuck them, that's insane. I'm inclined to burn anything I own from them.
Ami Angelwings@neatchee yeah it came out in 2022 and 2021 but the reporting wasn't totally solid, this confirms it... I'd already stopped buying things from them no matter how tempting...
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/hollywood-business-4chan-1235017475/
Gen X-Wing@neatchee @justinling Would be nice if they would sell that stake outright. I.e. it would be nice if buyers would let them know that’s what they want.
Then we’ll know if they agree with the crap, or if it was a stupid investment.
Also better to sell at low prices than burn. That way it takes sales (and value) away from them.
Nosaj 
Considering that 4chan was originally spun off that bastion of Japanese internet, 2chan, I wonder if the Japanese buyers realised at the time how different the culture was, or if they just thought they were getting access to the English version of what they already knew.
Aknorals⚑Ⓐ 🏴@nosaj @justinling 2ch was arguably known for anti-Korean / anti-Chinese racism years before 4chan's /pol/ existed (and eventually took over the site).
It's just a bad format.
It's just a bad format.
impossible ortolan@nosaj @justinling 2channel's also a cesspool. lonely nerds who are also insane Japanese nationalists. its founder had to bounce to the US to dodge a bunch of defamation charges related to the site, and ended up running 4chan for a bit as well. Jim Watkins of 8chan and QAnon infamy currently runs it.
T. T. PerryWild!! Awesome work.
Aya J@justinling This is wild, seriously sounds like a 4chan story about 4chan that they'd write as a joke, unironically.