QUESTIONABLE SOURCE
A questionable source exhibits one or more of the following: extreme bias, consistent promotion of propaganda/conspiracies, poor or no sourcing to credible information, a complete lack of transparency, and/or is fake news. Fake News is the deliberate attempt to publish hoaxes and/or disinformation for profit or influence (Learn More). Sources listed in the Questionable Category may be very untrustworthy and should be fact-checked on a per-article basis. See all Questionable sources.
- Overall, we rate 4Chan right biased and Questionable based on a lack of transparency, frequent publication of propaganda, conspiracy theories, and pseudoscience, as well as numerous failed fact checks.
Detailed Report
Questionable Reasoning: Propaganda, Conspiracy, Poor Sourcing, False Information, Lack of Transparency, Hate, Pseudoscience
Bias Rating: EXTREME RIGHT
Factual Reporting: VERY LOW
Country: USA
Press Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY
History
Founded in 2003 by Christopher “moot” Poole, 4Chan is a forum platform that routinely publishes pornography, conspiracy theories, and disinformation. Most content on 4Chan is considered shocking and, in some cases, harmful as people can post anonymously. In 2015, Christopher Poole stepped down from 4Chan, citing debt, and got a job working for Google.
Read our profile on the United States government and media.
Funded by / Ownership
Hiroyuki Nishimura currently owns 4Chan through 4Chan Community Support LLC. Advertising and membership fees generate revenue.
Analysis / Bias
4Chan breaks the content down into boards with topics such as Anime, Hardcore, and LGBT. On the front page, there is an advertisement that displays hardcore pornography. This review will not detail or link to content as most are not appropriate to link to. Our review concludes that most content consists of QAnon conspiracy theories, right-wing propaganda, misinformation, and harmful pseudoscience. In general, 4Chan is a place with no names, few rules and has been described as a bigoted cesspool. That is an accurate description. Below is a shortlist of failed fact checks.
Failed Fact Checks
- COVID-19 vaccine “is designed to work in conjunction with the common cold” and that it will make both the common cold and the flu “extremely lethal.” – False
- If you know someone’s name and date of birth you can change their votes on Oregon’s voting website. – Pants on Fire
- Starbucks offered coupons exclusively to customers of “African-American heritage.” – False
- “clovergender” is that “a person is a younger age at heart and therefore it’s okay for them to be with someone much younger, even if they’re an adult and the person they want to be with is a minor.” – False
- A video shows ballots being changed in Maryland. – False
- For more failed fact checks see here.
Overall, we rate 4Chan right biased and Questionable based on a lack of transparency, frequent publication of propaganda, conspiracy theories, and pseudoscience, as well as numerous failed fact checks. (D. Van Zandt 11/10/2021)
Last Updated on May 6, 2023 by Media Bias Fact Check
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Left vs. Right Bias: How we rate the bias of media sources