BBC Homepage
  • Skip to content
  • Accessibility Help
  • Your account
  • Notifications
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • More menu
More menu
Search BBC
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
Close menu
BBC News
Menu
  • Home
  • InDepth
  • Israel-Gaza war
  • War in Ukraine
  • Climate
  • UK
  • World
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Culture
More
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Health
  • Family & Education
  • In Pictures
  • Newsbeat
  • BBC Verify
  • Disability
  • BBC Trending

What is 8chan?

  • Published
    5 August 2019
Share page
About sharing
A screenshot from 8chanImage source, 8chan
ByBBC Trending
In-depth reporting on social media

An extreme message board is understood to have served as a platform for the violent ramblings of the suspect in the El Paso mass shooting.

The perpetrators of the Christchurch mosque shootings and an attack on a US synagogue also posted links to documents and live streams of their violent sprees on 8chan.

What is 8chan and why are extremists using it?

Media caption,

Police were filmed responding to the El Paso shootings

What is it?

Founded in 2013, 8chan is a message board dedicated to extreme free speech and anonymity. Users set up discussion areas or "boards" and moderate the site. Although there are hundreds of topic areas, the site is most notorious for its "/pol/" board, short for "politically incorrect".

The board consists of a constant barrage of virulently racist, anti-Semitic, and conspiracy theory-related content. Its reliance on users to moderate and pick topics led to it becoming a key organising platform for extremist campaigns.

8chan /pol/ was a crucial meeting ground for activists behind the anti-feminist campaign known as GamerGate, and more recently spawned QAnon - a conspiracy theory popular with some supporters of President Donald Trump.

  • Trump condemns US mass shootings amid criticism

  • Big firms 'must condemn GamerGate'

  • QAnon: What's the truth behind a pro-Trump conspiracy theory?

The absolutist free speech ethos also attracted people who want to announce their violent plans. Prior to the El Paso attack, a short document appeared on /pol/ which appeared to outline the shooter's beliefs. It appeared along with a letter from a college that included the shooter's name.

Similarly, 8chan posts were made by suspects in the March shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, and the synagogue shooting in Poway, California in April, prior to the attacks.

  • Christchurch and the new threat of far-right violence

  • Rabbi describes facing synagogue gunman

Who owns it?

8chan was set up by Fredrick Brennan, a programmer known by the nickname "Hotwheels" who has said in interviews, external that he was frustrated with a similar message board, 4chan, and wanted to set up an alternative.

  • What is 4chan?

Mr Brennan later turned the site over to Jim Watkins, a US army veteran. Both men live in the Philippines. Mr Brennan has since distanced himself from 8chan. Following the attack, he told the New York Times: "Shut the site down".

He told the paper, external: "It's not doing the world any good. It's a complete negative to everybody except the users that are there. And you know what? It's a negative to them, too. They just don't realise it."

Although 8chan does not appear in Google search results, internet ranking company Alexa says it is among the top 5,000 websites worldwide.

The BBC has contacted 8chan for comment.

CCTV footage said to be of the El Paso gunmanImage source, AFP
Image caption,

Footage of the Texas gunman was filmed by security cameras

How has it stayed online?

The company that handles 8chan's domain registration, Tucows, said that it has no plans to deregister the site.

Another key company is Cloudflare, which protects websites against online attacks. Cloudflare has been extremely reluctant to pull its services from any website, no matter its subject matter, and only did so in one high-profile case involving a neo-Nazi site.

After the El Paso attack, Cloudflare chief executive Matthew Prince said initially that his firm would continue to support 8chan. However, he reversed course on Sunday and wrote that the company would stop providing services, external because "8chan has repeatedly proven itself to be a cesspool of hate".

  • 8chan far-right forum pushed offline as Cloudflare cuts support

"Even if 8chan may not have violated the letter of the law in refusing to moderate their hate-filled community, they have created an environment that revels in violating its spirit.”

By early Monday GMT, the site had gone offline after tweeting: "There might be some downtime in the next 24-48 hours while we find a solution." Administrators say the site has enlisted another US-based security firm, BitMitigate.

Blog by Mike Wendling, external

You can follow BBC Trending on Twitter @BBCtrending, external, and find us on Facebook, external. All our stories are at bbc.com/trending.

Top stories

  • Live. 

    Starmer says Britain must defeat rising antisemitic hatred after two killed in Manchester synagogue attack

    • 31122 viewing31k viewing
  • What we know about Manchester synagogue attack

    • Published
      8 minutes ago
  • What footage tells us about Manchester synagogue attack

    • Published
      2 hours ago

More to explore

  • What we know about Manchester synagogue attack

    Worshippers gather near the scene of the attack
  • What footage tells us about Manchester synagogue attack

    Two police officers are seen pointing their weapons at a man lying on the ground who is blurred
  • How Taylor Swift made herself too big to fail

    Side-by-side portraits of Taylor Swift at different times in her career, under a 'BBC InDepth' logo. On the left, she has straight hair and wears a sparkly pink outfit, looking left. On the right, she is younger, has curly hair and wears a black sequined outfit, looking right. The background features a vinyl record design with star decorations.
  • Dame Jane Goodall revolutionised our understanding of our closest primate cousins

    Jane Goodall appears amongs the leaves of the rainforest holding a pair of binoculars.
  • How much time could Diddy spend in prison?

    A sketch in copurt shows Sean "Diddy" Combs wearing glasses and a yellow prison jumpsuit. There is a police officer sketched behind him
  • Should I use olive oil for frying? How to choose the right cooking oil

    A stock photo shows a woman pouring a big bottle of sunflower oil into a deep wok pan on an electric hob with cooking ingredients all around her and her kitchen cabinets and oven in the background.
  • Why BBC sent undercover reporter into a busy London police station

    Rory Bibb, a young white man with dark, curly hair, dressed in the uniform of Metropolitan Police civilian staff, a navy zip-up top with a badge saying "designated detention officer" and royal blue epaulettes. He is standing against a blank white background.
  • Relief and new baby for asylum family of child suffocated in Channel crossing

    A newborn baby is carefully held up by his doting father, with mother in background
  • Why the US government has shut down and what happens now

    File image of the US Capitol building with a blurry sign in the foreground that reads "Stop Trump"
loading elsewhere stories

Most read

  1. 1

    Baroness Mone accuses chancellor of 'inflammatory' language

  2. 2

    What we know about Manchester synagogue attack

  3. 3

    Only Fools and Horses actor dies aged 68

  4. 4

    Mum's anti-chemo views influenced daughter's death

  5. 5

    Say sorry to children for Covid errors, ex-children's commissioner tells ministers

  6. 6

    Peaky Blinders to return to TV with gang's new era

  7. 7

    Hamas military leader in Gaza objects to ceasefire plan, BBC understands

  8. 8

    Eyewitnesses describe Manchester synagogue attack

  9. 9

    Storm Amy upgraded to amber warning

  10. 10

    I'm not resigning, Met Police chief says after BBC investigation

BBC News Services

  • On your mobile
  • On smart speakers
  • Get news alerts
  • Contact BBC News

Best of the BBC

  • A heartfelt comedy exploring adoption and parenthood

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Trying has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Trying
  • Director Steven Spielberg shares the soundtrack of his life

    • Attribution
      Sounds

    Added to My Sounds
    Desert Island Discs has been added to your My Sounds.
    Desert Island Discs: Steven Spielberg
  • Unravelling the mysteries of the human brain

    • Attribution
      iPlayer

    Added to Watchlist
    Secrets of the Brain has been added to your iPlayer Watchlist.
    Secrets of the Brain
  • Paul Sinha is quizzed on crisps and cricket

    • Attribution
      Sounds

    Added to My Sounds
    Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz has been added to your My Sounds.
    Paul Sinha's Perfect Pub Quiz
  • Home
  • News
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • iPlayer
  • Sounds
  • Bitesize
  • CBBC
  • CBeebies
  • Food
  • Terms of Use
  • About the BBC
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookies
  • Accessibility Help
  • Parental Guidance
  • Contact the BBC
  • Make an editorial complaint
  • BBC emails for you

Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.