DeathThreats
Latest
Trolls threaten laid off reporters in coordinated online campaign
Unfortunately, sustained online harassment campaigns are still a reality. NBC News has learned that trolls have launched a coordinated threat campaign against BuzzFeed and Huffington Post (owned by Engadget parent Verizon) journalists recently let go as part of layoffs. They appear to have originated from 4chan and used the same far-right memes before launching into racist and sexist slurs as well as death threats. The attackers have largely targeted writers on social networks like Twitter and Instagram, although they've also used email and even PayPal.
Ajit Pai reportedly cancelled CES appearance due to death threats
Yesterday, CES announced that FCC Chairman Ajit Pai would no longer be appearing at the trade show where he was scheduled to take part in a conversation with FTC Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen. At the time, neither FCC nor the show organizers gave a reason for the sudden change in plans, but Recode now reports that the cancellation is due to Pai receiving death threats. Two FCC sources added that law enforcement is now involved.
Gaming culture critic Sarkeesian cancels speech after school shooting threats (update)
Following threats of extreme violence at Utah State University, feminist culture-critic Anita Sarkeesian has cancelled her speech at the school scheduled for Wednesday. This morning, someone claiming to be a student at the university emailed staff members, saying that he or she would commit "the deadliest school shooting in American history" if the event wasn't cancelled, according to Utah newspaper The Standard Examiner. The email's author says that feminists have ruined their life and promised a "Montreal Massacre-style attack," stating that he or she possesses a variety of firearms and explosives and that no one in attendance or at the campus' Women's Center would be able to defend themselves should the lecture take place. This isn't the first time Sarkeesian has come under threat, either -- let alone the first time this year.
Scientists get death threats over Large Hadron Collider
Really people, enough is enough. Death threats? Seriously? According to a fresh report from the Telegraph, gurus working on the mysterious Large Hadron Collider are receiving all sorts of strange messages, e-mails and faxes as the go-live date (this Wednesday, supposedly) draws ever closer. For those curious about why some folks are up in arms over this thing, we'll simply point you to this very informational rap video; for those opposed to nerdy hip-hop, let's just say its primary goal is to "seek out new particles including the long-awaited Higgs boson responsible for making things weigh what they do and the possible source of gravity called dark matter." Somehow or another, the paranoid among us think that carrying out those tasks will rip the world wide open or leave you stuck in 1990 with nothing in your CD player but Ice Ice Baby. Okay, so maybe that last scenario is worth getting worked up about.[Via TGDaily]
When good toys go bad X: Elmo makes death threats to toddler
Sure, it seemed like after the years of hard drinking, petty crime, and run-ins with the law, Elmo had cleaned up his act -- but a shocking report out of Tampa Bay, Florida, says otherwise. A two-year-old's life has been turned upside down by vicious talk coming from his favorite toy, Elmo Knows Your Name. It seems that after a recent battery change, the PC-interfacing doll began spouting death threats of "kill James" at the toddler, with seemingly no explanation as to how the new phrase entered his vocabulary. The situation came to a head when the boy's mother heard her son repeating the twisted suggestion. Of course, what she didn't hear was Elmo's other threat: that he would "cut anyone who crossed [him] end-to-end with a Bowie knife," and, "dine on their internal organs." Fisher Price says it has a team of experts working on the case, and enough tranquilizer darts to put Elmo down, "For good."[Thanks, Jordan]Read - Toddler's Elmo Doll Makes Death Threats, Family SaysRead - Video of Elmo making death threats
