Kiwi Farms: The controversial web forum designed to harass and target online individuals
In short: Founded in 2013, the web forum Kiwi Farms facilitates organized group trolling, doxing, and real-life harassment of various online figures. Its users, who refer to targets as lolcows, have been linked to the suicides of three individuals, leading to widespread efforts by service providers to restrict the site's operations.
Kiwi Farms originated in 2013 as CWCki Forums, established by former 8chan administrator Joshua Conner Moon. The platform was created to track and harass an individual first noticed on the Something Awful forums in 2007. By 2014, the site adopted its current name. Its user base, described as terminally online, targets diverse groups including journalists, video game hobbyists, and LGBTQ individuals. The site's tactics are severe, involving doxing, swatting, and attempts to ruin victims' professional lives.
The forum's activities have drawn significant scrutiny and legal action. In 2021, the suicide of software developer Near, who had been subjected to intense, organized abuse on the site, prompted DreamHost to drop the forum's domain registration. Following a campaign against activist Clara Sorrenti in 2022, Cloudflare terminated its services, citing an imminent and emergency threat to human life. Despite these attempts to isolate the site, it has frequently returned to the internet through alternative providers like VanwaTech.
The site's impact on its targets is profound and often tragic. Beyond the confirmed link to three suicides, including those of Chloe Sagal in 2018 and Julie Terryberry in 2016, the forum actively celebrates such deaths. Users have even manipulated social media reporting systems to prevent victims from accessing mental health support. While owner Joshua Moon has dismissed responsibility for these outcomes, the site remains a focal point for debates regarding online safety, the limits of free speech, and the accountability of infrastructure providers in hosting platforms that facilitate targeted, real-world harm.
Opens the Intellect+ feed with this card first. Swipe up for the next one.
Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Kiwi Farms
To cite this card, link to https://intellectplus.co.uk/app/culture-kiwi-farms.
How we source, check and correct cards: Editorial standards.
General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.
Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?
Related
More in Journalism and mass media · More in Cultures · Latest · A–Z · All topics
