{{Short description|Web forum}} {{Pp-blp|small=yes}} {{Use American English|date=August 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2022}} {{Infobox website | name = Kiwi Farms | logo = KiwiFarmsLogo.svg | logo_size = 150px | type = Forum | language = English, with an "Internationale Clique" subforum for non-English discussions | owner = Joshua "Null" Moon | parent = 1776 Solutions LLC (previously Final Solutions LLC)<ref name="TheHill1776Final">{{Cite news |last=Dress |first=Brad |date=September 15, 2022 |title=Why anti-trans web forum Kiwi Farms was erased from the internet |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3642685-why-anti-trans-web-forum-kiwi-farms-was-erased-from-the-internet/ |access-date=September 16, 2022 |archive-date=September 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915191256/https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3642685-why-anti-trans-web-forum-kiwi-farms-was-erased-from-the-internet/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | url = | commercial = Yes | registration = Optional (required to participate and view certain content) | users = 16,000 daily logins, as of 2022<ref name="LeMondeSep5"/> | launch_date = {{start date and age|2013|02|04}} }}
'''Kiwi Farms''', formerly known as '''CWCki Forums''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|w|ɪ|k|i}} {{respell|KWIH|kee}}), is a web forum that facilitates the discussion and harassment of online figures and communities. Their targets are often subject to organized group trolling and stalking, as well as doxing and real-life harassment.<ref name="NewYork" /><ref name=":8" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Dastagir |first=Alia E. |date=July 23, 2021 |title='The internet is not a game. ... This stuff really hurts.' Respected developer who was bullied online dies by suicide. |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/07/23/how-toxic-online-cultures-trolling-and-bullying-contribute-suicide/8042846002/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211001/https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2021/07/23/how-toxic-online-cultures-trolling-and-bullying-contribute-suicide/8042846002/ |archive-date=October 1, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Kiwi Farms has been tied to the suicides of three people who were victims of harassment by the website.<ref name="WaPoCloudflareDrop" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Wodinsky |first=Shashona |date=June 29, 2021 |title=The Worst Site on the Web Gets DDoS'd After Being Connected to Prominent Developer's Suicide |url=https://gizmodo.com/the-worst-site-on-the-web-gets-ddosd-after-being-connec-1847196197 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629232418/https://gizmodo.com/the-worst-site-on-the-web-gets-ddosd-after-being-connec-1847196197 |archive-date=June 29, 2021 |access-date=June 29, 2021 |website=Gizmodo}}</ref><ref name="Insider-Colombo" />
Kiwi Farms' connection to several controversies and harassment campaigns has caused the forum to be blocked by Internet service providers or refused service by companies. After the Christchurch mosque shootings, some Internet service providers in New Zealand blocked the site. In 2021, after the suicide of Near, a non-binary software developer who was subject to targeted and organized group harassment by members of the site, DreamHost stopped providing their domain registration services to Kiwi Farms. In September 2022, Kiwi Farms was blocked by Cloudflare due to "an imminent and emergency threat to human life". Following intermittent availability, ''The Daily Dot'' confirmed VanwaTech was providing content delivery network services to the site, which brought it back online. In September 2022, Kiwi Farms suffered a data breach; the site operator told users to assume that IP addresses, email addresses, and passwords had been leaked.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Goodin |first=Dan |date=September 19, 2022 |title=Kiwi Farms has been breached; assume passwords and emails have been leaked |work=Ars Technica |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/kiwi-farms-has-been-breached-assume-passwords-and-emails-have-been-leaked/ |access-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921012226/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/kiwi-farms-has-been-breached-assume-passwords-and-emails-have-been-leaked/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Holt |first=K. |date=September 19, 2022 |title=Kiwi Farms says someone hacked its website |work=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/kiwi-farms-hack-142833516.html |access-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921063242/https://www.engadget.com/kiwi-farms-hack-142833516.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
== History == Kiwi Farms was founded in 2013 by Joshua Conner Moon (known as "Null" on the website), a former 8chan administrator.<ref name="LeMondeSep5">{{Cite news |date=September 5, 2022 |title=Decoding Kiwi Farms, the blocked Internet bully that continues to be a nuisance |work=Le Monde |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2022/09/05/decoding-kiwi-farms-the-online-bully-that-continues-to-thrive-despite-being-blocked_5995916_13.html |access-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905171559/https://www.lemonde.fr/en/pixels/article/2022/09/05/decoding-kiwi-farms-the-online-bully-that-continues-to-thrive-despite-being-blocked_5995916_13.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It was originally launched as a forum website to troll and harass an individual<!--Please do not add their name, See the FAQ.--> originally noticed in 2007 on the ''Something Awful'' forums.<ref name="NewYork" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Asarch |first=Steven |title=The online history of creator Chris Chan, who was charged with incest after leaked audio was posted online about mom |work=Insider |url=https://www.insider.com/chris-chan-arrested-trending-who-is-mom-twitter-history-sonichu-2021-8 |access-date=December 27, 2022 |archive-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308145453/https://www.insider.com/chris-chan-arrested-trending-who-is-mom-twitter-history-sonichu-2021-8 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{r|Veale|p=8–9}} Eventually, an Encyclopedia Dramatica page was created about them. A dedicated wiki, titled "CWCki" based on their initials, was created by people who felt that the Encyclopedia Dramatica entry was not detailed or accurate enough.<ref name="NewYork">{{Cite web |last=Pless |first=Margaret |date=July 19, 2016 |title=Kiwi Farms, the Web's Biggest Community of Stalkers |url=http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/07/kiwi-farms-the-webs-biggest-community-of-stalkers.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190511184633/http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/07/kiwi-farms-the-webs-biggest-community-of-stalkers.html |archive-date=May 11, 2019 |access-date=May 12, 2019 |website=Intelligencer |publisher=New York Magazine}}</ref> Kiwi Farms was originally called "CWCki Forums"<ref name="Newshub">{{Cite news |date=March 18, 2019 |title=Kiwi Farms website refuses to help police in Christchurch terror case |work=Newshub |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/03/kiwi-farms-website-refuses-to-help-police-in-christchurch-terror-case.html |url-status=dead |access-date=April 24, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190418011244/https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2019/03/kiwi-farms-website-refuses-to-help-police-in-christchurch-terror-case.html |archive-date=April 18, 2019}}</ref> before "Kiwi Farms" was coined in 2014 as a corruption of the original name.<ref name="NewYork" /> It now hosts threads targeting many individuals, including minorities, women, LGBTQ people, neurodivergent people, people considered by Kiwi Farms users to be mentally ill or sexually deviant, feminists, journalists, Internet celebrities, and video game or comics hobbyists.<ref name="LeMondeSep5" /><ref name="NewYork" /><ref name=":8" />
{{As of|2022}}, the site had 16,000 daily logins, according to the site's administrators.<ref name=LeMondeSep5/> Katelyn Burns, who had been targeted by the site, described its audience as "terminally online people from a wide range of political ideologies, from far right and anti-trans feminist types to edgy lefties obsessed with consuming internet drama", while noting that "of particular interest to many of the site's users have been trans people, who they have labeled 'troons', a derogatory portmanteau of 'tranny' and 'goon{{'"}}.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Burns |first=Katelyn |title=Opinion {{!}} Kiwi Farms is still a threat to free speech and safety |url=https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/kiwi-farms-made-internet-more-dangerous-trans-people-n1298815 |access-date=2022-09-17 |website=MSNBC.com |date=September 10, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=September 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220917232858/https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/kiwi-farms-made-internet-more-dangerous-trans-people-n1298815 |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Harassment == The targets of Kiwi Farms threads are often subject to organized group trolling, harassment, and stalking, including real-life harassment by users.<ref name="NewYork" /><ref name=":4" /> The site targets transgender people,<ref name=":8" /><ref name="NPR" /> people with disabilities,<ref name="cross">{{Cite journal |last=Cross |first=Kathrine |date=2019 |title=Toward a formal sociology of online harassment – ProQuest |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/a059c20576b1534d9988f5b8d8b00b70/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=5514779 |url-status=live |journal=Human Technology |volume=15 |issue=3 |pages=326 |doi=10.17011/ht/urn.201911265023 |s2cid=213629199 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213092519/https://www.proquest.com/openview/a059c20576b1534d9988f5b8d8b00b70/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=5514779 |archive-date=February 13, 2023 |doi-access=free |accessdate=2022-09-16}}</ref><ref name="solo" /> and those its users believe to be neurodivergent.<ref name="NPR">{{Cite news |title=A campaign made it harder to access an anti-trans website linked to multiple suicides |work=NPR.org |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/09/12/1122482174/a-campaign-made-it-harder-to-access-an-anti-trans-website-linked-to-multiple-sui |access-date=2022-09-17 |archive-date=September 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915160307/https://www.npr.org/2022/09/12/1122482174/a-campaign-made-it-harder-to-access-an-anti-trans-website-linked-to-multiple-sui |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="cross" /><ref name="solo">{{Cite book |last=Solo |first=A. M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=68TKDwAAQBAJ |title=Perspectives on the Information Society |date=2019 |publisher=The Crocels Press Limited |isbn=978-1-78518-007-1 |editor-last=Bishop |editor-first=Jonathan |pages=84 |chapter=Fighting Online Defamation, Doxing, and Impersonation |quote=Joshua Conner Moon operates a neo-Nazi white supremacist hate group and cyberbullying website that targets disabled people, especially people with autism, Jews, Muslims, black people, Hispanics, transgendered, vulnerable people... |via=Google Books |access-date=March 8, 2023 |archive-date=February 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230213092704/https://books.google.com/books?id=68TKDwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Targets of harassment are referred to on the forum as "lolcows", named after the idea that they can be "milked for laughs".<ref name="w619">{{cite web | last=Wilson | first=Cam | title=Senator wants regulators to have the power to take down websites like hate forum Kiwi Farms | website=Crikey | date=2022-09-23 | url=https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/09/23/greens-kiwi-farm-esafety-commissioner-david-shoebridge/ | access-date=2025-01-25}}</ref> Tactics include publishing their victims' personal information ("doxing"), trying to get them fired from their jobs, reporting crimes at their addresses in an attempt to have police dispatched to their homes ("swatting"), and harassing their family members and friends. Some of Kiwi Farms' harassment campaigns have continued for months or years, and some aim to drive the targets to suicide.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Scott |date=August 25, 2022 |title=Campaign pushes Cloudflare to drop trans hate site |work=Axios |url=https://www.axios.com/2022/08/25/cloudflare-trans-hate-site-kiwi-farms |url-status=live |access-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825120152/https://www.axios.com/2022/08/25/cloudflare-trans-hate-site-kiwi-farms |archive-date=August 25, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 4, 2022 |title=Harcèlement : l'hébergeur Cloudflare bloque finalement le forum « Kiwi Farms » |language=fr |trans-title=Harassment: Host Cloudflare finally blocks the "Kiwi Farms" forum |work=Le Monde |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2022/09/04/harcelement-l-hebergeur-cloudflare-bloque-finalement-le-forum-kiwi-farms_6140163_4408996.html |access-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904110039/https://www.lemonde.fr/pixels/article/2022/09/04/harcelement-l-hebergeur-cloudflare-bloque-finalement-le-forum-kiwi-farms_6140163_4408996.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Both the site's owner Moon and the userbase of Kiwi Farms have been described as antisemitic, with Kiwi Farms users targeting a transgender Jewish convert with antisemitic abuse.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Topor |first=Lev |date=1 August 2019 |title=Dark Hatred: Antisemitism on the Dark Web |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.26613/jca_2.2.31/html |journal=Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=25–42 |doi=10.26613/jca/2.2.31 |issn=2472-9906 |s2cid=213512285 |access-date=September 16, 2022 |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920170621/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.26613/jca_2.2.31/html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Nachimson |first=Sarah |date=2022-09-13 |title=This trolling website targeted transgender people, Jews and the disabled. Here's how it fell |url=https://forward.com/news/517780/kiwi-farms-trolling-website-antisemitism-transgender-harass-4chan/ |access-date=2022-09-18 |website=The Forward |language=en |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920170958/https://forward.com/news/517780/kiwi-farms-trolling-website-antisemitism-transgender-harass-4chan/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Clara Sorrenti, a transgender activist and Twitch streamer under the name "Keffals", was doxxed on Kiwi Farms in a thread dedicated to discussing her. Users on the site posted personal information about her (e.g. addresses, phone numbers) as well as that of her friends and family. Users also leaked sexually explicit photos of her and made death threats.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dress |first=Brad |date=September 4, 2022 |title=Web security firm Cloudflare drops anti-trans website over 'threat to human life' |work=The Hill |url=https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3629062-web-security-firm-cloudflare-drops-anti-trans-website-over-threat-to-human-life/ |access-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904230319/https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3629062-web-security-firm-cloudflare-drops-anti-trans-website-over-threat-to-human-life/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=September 3, 2022 |title='Immediate threat to human life' – controversial Kiwifarms forum blocked by Cloudflare |work=The New Zealand Herald |agency=RNZ |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/immediate-threat-to-human-life-controversial-kiwifarms-forum-blocked-by-cloudflare/PPEBHA2S2ECMUH5W2JCWZXEU6I/ |access-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904035136/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/immediate-threat-to-human-life-controversial-kiwifarms-forum-blocked-by-cloudflare/PPEBHA2S2ECMUH5W2JCWZXEU6I/ |url-status=live }}</ref> She was later swatted, arrested, and detained for over ten hours in August 2022 when someone stole her identity and sent fake emails to local politicians threatening mass violence. She was later cleared of any wrongdoing, and police acknowledged the incident as a swatting attempt. Users also posted the address of an unrelated man who lives in the same city and shares her last name, and police were also sent to his residence. After the swatting incident, Sorrenti said she moved out of her home and into a hotel for her safety.<ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Carruthers |first=Dale |date=August 18, 2022 |title=Police sent to Toronto home of man with same last name as London trans activist |work=The London Free Press |url=https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/swatted-toronto-man-caught-up-in-online-harassment-of-london-trans-activist |url-status=live |access-date=August 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818221305/https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/swatted-toronto-man-caught-up-in-online-harassment-of-london-trans-activist |archive-date=August 18, 2022}}</ref><ref name="keffals-kotaku">{{Cite web |last=Bardhan |first=Ashley |date=August 19, 2022 |title=Trans Twitch Streamer Keffals Now 'In Hiding' After Second Dox Attack |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2022/08/trans-twitch-streamer-keffals-now-in-hiding-after-second-dox-attack/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823155107/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2022/08/trans-twitch-streamer-keffals-now-in-hiding-after-second-dox-attack/ |archive-date=August 23, 2022 |access-date=August 23, 2022 |website=Kotaku Australia}}</ref> After she posted a photograph of her cat on the hotel bed, Kiwi Farms users identified the hotel from the bedsheets in the photograph, and sent multiple pizza orders to the hotel under her deadname. "Obviously, the pizza itself isn't the problem. It's the threat they send by telling me they know where I live and are willing to act on it in the real world," she said in a video after the incident.<ref name=":6" /><ref name="keffals-kotaku" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Khan |first=Ahmar |date=August 17, 2022 |title=Twitch streamer and trans woman, Clara Sorrenti allegedly doxxed again |publisher=Global News |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9068032/twitch-streamer-trans-woman-clara-sorrenti-keffals-doxxed-again/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818025832/https://globalnews.ca/news/9068032/twitch-streamer-trans-woman-clara-sorrenti-keffals-doxxed-again/ |archive-date=August 18, 2022}}</ref> Sorrenti later fled the country after her location was identified again, reportedly by someone who hacked her Uber account.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Simon |first1=Amy |last2=Khan |first2=Ahmar |date=August 23, 2022 |title=Doxxed Twitch streamer and transgender activist leaving Canada amid ongoing harassment |publisher=Global News |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/9079495/clara-sorrenti-doxxed-transgender-leaving-canada-europe/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220824212856/https://globalnews.ca/news/9079495/clara-sorrenti-doxxed-transgender-leaving-canada-europe/ |archive-date=August 24, 2022}}</ref> The incidents are being investigated as criminal harassment, and Sorrenti stated she intended to pursue legal action.<ref name="keffals-kotaku" /><ref name="Keffals Insider">{{Cite news |last=Cohen |first=Rebecca |date=August 19, 2022 |title=Popular gaming streamer Keffals said she had to go into hiding over a months-long campaign of doxxing threats: 'I never plan to back down' |work=Insider |publisher=Insider Inc. |url=https://www.insider.com/streamer-keffals-says-she-went-into-hiding-over-doxxing-threats-2022-8 |url-status=live |access-date=August 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822163450/https://www.insider.com/streamer-keffals-says-she-went-into-hiding-over-doxxing-threats-2022-8 |archive-date=August 22, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Zandbergen |first1=Rebecca |last2=McInnes |first2=Angela |date=August 23, 2022 |title=Twitch streamer and trans activist says she's leaving Canada for awhile due to harassment |work=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/sorrenti-trans-activist-leaving-canada-1.6559289 |url-status=live |access-date=August 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823165725/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/sorrenti-trans-activist-leaving-canada-1.6559289 |archive-date=August 23, 2022}}</ref> Sorrenti also promoted a campaign to pressure Cloudflare into terminating its services to the website.<ref name=":8" /><ref name="cnn-6sep2022">{{Cite news |last1=O'Sullivan |first1=Donie |last2=Naik |first2=Richa |date=September 6, 2022 |title=Trans activist celebrates rare victory against online trolls after Kiwi Farms deplatforming |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/06/tech/kiwi-farms-clara-sorrenti-keffals/index.html |access-date=September 7, 2022 |archive-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906233346/https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/06/tech/kiwi-farms-clara-sorrenti-keffals/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
On August 24, 2022, U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene stated in an interview with Newsmax that she was swatted twice by an individual claiming to be Kiwi Farms moderator "AltisticRight". She demanded that the website be shut down, saying "There should be no business or any kind of service where you can target your enemy. That's absolutely absurd and this is the type of lawlessness that Democrats want all over the country". Cloudflare suspended a service to the website that allowed them to customize error messages in response.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mikkelsen |first=Emily |date=August 25, 2022 |title=What is KiwiFarms? Site blamed for Marjorie Taylor Greene 'swatting' has body count |url=https://myfox8.com/news/crime/what-is-kiwifarms/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904134014/https://myfox8.com/news/crime/what-is-kiwifarms/ |archive-date=September 4, 2022 |access-date=September 4, 2022 |website=WGHP |publisher=Nexstar Media Group}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zitser |first=Joshua |date=August 25, 2022 |title=How the 'swatting' site Kiwi Farms has created a bizarre alliance between MAGA's Marjorie Taylor Greene and transgender activists |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/kiwi-farms-trans-activists-mtg-swatting-trolling-website-offline-2022-8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220901130531/https://www.businessinsider.com/kiwi-farms-trans-activists-mtg-swatting-trolling-website-offline-2022-8 |archive-date=September 1, 2022 |access-date=September 4, 2022 |website=Business Insider}}</ref><ref name="WaPoCloudflareDrop" />
A U.S. federal lawsuit stated that a video of an online streamer engaging in sexual acts had been published on Kiwi Farms in November 2024, after which the video spread onto pornography websites. The streamer claimed to have received "hundreds of insulting and harassing messages" and to have felt "increasingly humiliated, mortified and depressed, and start[ed] feeling suicidal" as a result of the video being distributed online.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Carpenter |first=Nicole |date=2025-02-21 |title=Streamer Destiny sued for sharing intimate videos |url=https://www.polygon.com/news/527186/destiny-steven-bonnell-sexual-harassment-lawsui |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tucker |first=Rachel |date=February 2025 |title=Florida streamer Destiny sued over cyber sexual harassment: court documents |url=https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-streamer-destiny-sued-over-cyber-sexual-harassment-court-documents/ |work=WFLA}}</ref>
=== Terminations of service === Kiwi Farms used services from Cloudflare, an American hosting and web security services provider. The services include DDoS protection, and distribution through Cloudflare's content delivery network.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Newton |first=Casey |date=September 6, 2022 |title=How Cloudflare got Kiwi Farms wrong |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/6/23339889/cloudflare-kiwi-farms-content-moderation-ddos |access-date=September 8, 2022 |website=The Verge |language=en |archive-date=September 7, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220907230955/https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/6/23339889/cloudflare-kiwi-farms-content-moderation-ddos |url-status=live }}</ref> Following Kiwi Farms' harassment campaign against Sorrenti, in August 2022 a campaign was started to try to convince Cloudflare to stop providing services to the site.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Goforth |first=Claire |date=August 22, 2022 |title=Pressure grows on Cloudflare to drop Kiwi Farms after latest doxing campaign |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/kiwi-farms-cloudflare-keffals/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220822231145/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/kiwi-farms-cloudflare-keffals/ |archive-date=August 22, 2022 |access-date=August 23, 2022 |website=The Daily Dot}}</ref><ref name="Cole, 8-23-22">{{Cite news |last=Cole |first=Samantha |date=August 23, 2022 |title=People Are Demanding That Cloudflare Drop Kiwi Farms |work=Motherboard |publisher=Vice |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/people-are-demanding-that-cloudflare-drop-kiwi-farms/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220823182441/https://www.vice.com/en/article/z3434y/people-are-demanding-that-cloudflare-drop-kiwi-farms |archive-date=August 23, 2022}}</ref> NBC News claims this was done in order to enable "debilitating virtual attacks" against Kiwi Farms.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Ben |last2=Tenbarge |first2=Kat |date=September 2, 2022 |title=Anti-trans stalkers at Kiwi Farms are chasing one victim around the world. Their list of targets is growing. |work=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/cloudflare-kiwi-farms-keffals-anti-trans-rcna44834 |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906005940/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/cloudflare-kiwi-farms-keffals-anti-trans-rcna44834 |url-status=live }}</ref> While Cloudflare initially defended their decision to keep working with Kiwi Farms, on September 3, 2022, Cloudflare officially blocked the site from using its services.<ref name="WaPoCloudflareDrop">{{Cite news |last1=Menn |first1=Joseph |last2=Lorenz |first2=Taylor |author-link2=Taylor Lorenz |date=September 3, 2022 |title=Under pressure, security firm Cloudflare drops KiwiFarms website where stalkers organize |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/03/cloudflare-drops-kiwifarms/ |url-status=live |access-date=September 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904111844/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/09/03/cloudflare-drops-kiwifarms/ |archive-date=September 4, 2022 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite news |last=Feldman |first=Kate |date=September 4, 2022 |title=Cloudflare blocks internet forum Kiwi Farms over harassment of trans people – 'An unprecedented emergency and immediate threat to human life' |work=New York Daily News |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-cloudfare-kiwi-farms-trans-harassment-threats-20220904-phypn5iuevh3ppfc7aacfnbcgy-story.html |access-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904182042/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-cloudfare-kiwi-farms-trans-harassment-threats-20220904-phypn5iuevh3ppfc7aacfnbcgy-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> People attempting to visit the site saw an error message explaining that the decision had been made due to "an imminent and emergency threat to human life".<ref name="nbccloudflare">{{Cite news |last=Collins |first=Ben |date=September 3, 2022 |title=Internet services company Cloudflare blocks Kiwi Farms citing targeted threats |publisher=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/cloudflare-provided-security-services-kiwi-farms-blocks-website-rcna46219 |url-status=live |access-date=September 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220903232926/https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/cloudflare-provided-security-services-kiwi-farms-blocks-website-rcna46219 |archive-date=September 3, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite news |last=Alspach |first=Kyle |date=September 3, 2022 |title=Cloudflare has blocked Kiwi Farms due to 'escalated' threats |work=Protocol |publisher=Capitol News Company |url=https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/cloudflare-blocked-kiwi-farms-prince |url-status=live |access-date=September 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904005814/https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/cloudflare-blocked-kiwi-farms-prince |archive-date=September 4, 2022}}</ref> Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince stated that the company acted because "the rhetoric on the Kiwifarms site and specific, targeted threats [had] escalated over the last 48 hours" at the time of the decision.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" /> Other middleware providers, such as hCaptcha, followed suit in halting support for Kiwi Farms.<ref name="Kotaku">{{Cite web |last=Plunkett |first=Luke |date=September 4, 2022 |title=Hate Forum Kiwi Farms Flees To Russian Servers After Cloudflare Takes Site Offline |url=https://kotaku.com/kiwifarms-cloudflare-dropkiwifarms-threats-security-1849496191 |access-date=September 4, 2022 |website=Kotaku |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905010206/https://kotaku.com/kiwifarms-cloudflare-dropkiwifarms-threats-security-1849496191 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite magazine |last=Farokhmanesh |first=Megan |date=September 8, 2022 |title=The End of Kiwi Farms, the Web's Most Notorious Stalker Site |url=https://www.wired.com/story/keffals-kiwifarms-cloudflare-blocked-clara-sorrenti/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908164902/https://www.wired.com/story/keffals-kiwifarms-cloudflare-blocked-clara-sorrenti/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Though the site was briefly offline due to Cloudflare's decision,<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Donie |date=September 4, 2022 |title=US internet service company blocks controversial online forum citing 'imminent threats to human life' |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/04/tech/cloudfare-blocked/index.html |access-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904201840/https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/04/tech/cloudfare-blocked/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> it was back online "intermittently" on September 4, 2022, with the Russian-based service provider DDoS-Guard and a Russian domain that had been registered on July 12, 2021.<ref name="APDDoSGuard">{{Cite news |date=September 4, 2022 |title=Citing imminent danger Cloudflare drops hate site Kiwi Farms |work=The Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/technology-gay-rights-7d64f7b71736e091a4b5d1b3935551b5 |access-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905000759/https://apnews.com/article/technology-gay-rights-7d64f7b71736e091a4b5d1b3935551b5 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Bonifacic |first=Igor |date=September 4, 2022 |title=Cloudflare blocks trans harassment forum Kiwi Farms following escalation of 'targeted threats' |work=Engadget |url=https://www.engadget.com/cloudflare-blocks-kiwi-farms-forum-212629893.html |access-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-date=September 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220904213419/https://www.engadget.com/cloudflare-blocks-kiwi-farms-forum-212629893.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 13, 2021 |title=Notorious Website Kiwi Farms Loses Its Domain Registrar |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/notorious-website-kiwi-farms-loses-its-domain-registrar/ |website=Vice.com |language=en |quote=Domain registrar DreamHost has given the notorious website Kiwi Farms 14 days to find a new registrar. According to the site's creator, Joshua "Null" Moon, Kiwi Farms has already moved to a Russian registrar and he's trying to secure another U.S. backup. |access-date=July 14, 2021 |archive-date=October 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211001/https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkbmam/notorious-website-kiwi-farms-loses-its-domain-registrar |url-status=live }}</ref> NBC analyst and former FBI Assistant Director for Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi said that by switching to Russian servers, Kiwi Farms "could easily become an increased threat of domestic terror".<ref name="Kotaku" /> DDoS-Guard stopped providing services to Kiwi Farms on September 5, 2022, also rendering the site's Russian domain inaccessible.<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |date=September 5, 2022 |title=Российская компания DDoS-Guard прекратила обслуживать форум Kiwi Farms |trans-title=The Russian company DDoS-Guard stopped servicing the Kiwi Farms forum |url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5547325 |access-date=September 5, 2022 |website=Kommersant |language=ru |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905133419/https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5547325 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="LeMondeSep5" /> The Internet Archive excluded Kiwi Farms from being archived at the Wayback Machine during this time.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Robertson |first=Adi |date=September 7, 2022 |title=Kiwi Farms has been scrubbed from the Internet Archive |work=The Verge |url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/7/23341051/kiwi-farms-internet-archive-backup-removal |url-status=live |access-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908003747/https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/7/23341051/kiwi-farms-internet-archive-backup-removal }}</ref><ref name=":12" />
Moon has since claimed that the takedown of Kiwi Farms was "an organized attack", and that there is "a coalition of criminals trying to frame the forum for their behavior" which provides "opportunities for professional victims to amplify their message". Moon also commented that he did not see a realistic scenario for Kiwi Farms to stay online.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 5, 2022 |title=Hate Forum Kiwi Farms Practically Dead As Owner Posts Conspiracy-Laden Rant |url=https://kotaku.com/kiwi-farms-dead-closed-rip-shut-down-russia-telegram-1849498373 |access-date=September 6, 2022 |website=Kotaku |language=en-us |archive-date=September 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220905235710/https://kotaku.com/kiwi-farms-dead-closed-rip-shut-down-russia-telegram-1849498373 |url-status=live }}</ref> On September 6, 2022, ''The Daily Dot'' confirmed that VanwaTech was providing content delivery network services to the site, hence bringing it back online.<ref name="goforth-daily-dot">{{Cite news |last=Goforth |first=Claire |date=September 6, 2022 |title=Kiwi Farms gets back online thanks to the same service that's kept 8kun alive |work=The Daily Dot |url=https://www.dailydot.com/debug/kiwi-farms-back-online-vanwatech/ |access-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906163812/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/kiwi-farms-back-online-vanwatech/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="opb">{{Cite web |title=Hate-filled Kiwi Farms message board finds new home with Southwest Washington tech company |url=https://www.opb.org/article/2022/09/06/kiwi-farms-new-provider-after-cloudfare-drops-site/ |access-date=September 7, 2022 |publisher=Oregon Public Broadcasting |language=en |archive-date=September 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220906233141/https://www.opb.org/article/2022/09/06/kiwi-farms-new-provider-after-cloudfare-drops-site/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Other websites running on VanwaTech infrastructure experienced availability problems as a result, including ''The Daily Stormer'' and 8chan.<ref name="ViceQAnon">{{Cite web |last=Gilbert |first=David |date=2022-09-09 |title=QAnon's Jim Watkins Tried to Save Kiwi Farms. Now His Site 8Kun Is Down. |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/kiwi-farms-jim-watkins-8kun/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=Vice |language=en |archive-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921030415/https://www.vice.com/en/article/ake7q5/kiwi-farms-jim-watkins-8kun }}</ref>
=== Suicides of harassment targets === Harassment campaigns by Kiwi Farms users are known to have contributed to the suicides of at least three individuals.<ref name="Hutton">{{Cite news |last=Hutton |first=Christopher |date=August 31, 2022 |title=Webhost says it won't take down website behind Marjorie Taylor Greene 'swatting' |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/technology/webhost-wont-take-down-website-mtg-swatting |access-date=September 4, 2022 |work=The Washington Examiner}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Standard">{{Cite news |date=September 4, 2022 |title=Situation eskaliert: Hassplattform Kiwi Farms vom Netz genommen |url=https://www.derstandard.de/story/2000138791948/situation-eskaliert-hass-plattform-kiwi-farms-vom-netz-genommen |access-date=September 4, 2022 |work=Der Standard |language=de}}</ref><ref name="booted">{{Cite web |last=Baj |first=Lavender |date=July 13, 2021 |title=Kiwi Farms Has 14 Days To Find A New Domain Host After Being Booted Off DreamHost |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2021/07/kiwi-farms-domain-registrar/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211001/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2021/07/kiwi-farms-domain-registrar/ |archive-date=October 1, 2021 |access-date=July 13, 2021 |website=Kotaku Australia}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The Kiwi Farms community considers it a goal to drive its targets to suicide, and has celebrated such deaths with a counter on the website.{{r|Veale|p=55, 61}} They have used social media reporting systems to mass-report posts by harassment targets in which they have expressed suicidal thoughts or intentions, with the goal of reducing the possibility their targets receive help.{{r|Veale|p=91}}
In 2013, American video game developer Chloe Sagal became a Kiwi Farms target after ''Eurogamer'' reported Sagal's Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign had been flagged for "suspicious activity". Sagal had raised over $30,000 on the platform for metal poisoning treatment to remove shrapnel from a car accident, but ''Eurogamer'' reported that Sagal had actually intended to use the proceeds for sex reassignment surgery. Sagal later died via self-immolation on June 19, 2018,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Katzowitz |first=Josh |date=June 25, 2018 |title=Transgender game developer who'd been bullied online dies by suicide |url=https://www.dailydot.com/irl/chloe-sagal-suicide-cyberbullying-harassment/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518001711/https://www.dailydot.com/irl/chloe-sagal-suicide-cyberbullying-harassment/ |archive-date=May 18, 2019 |access-date=May 18, 2019 |website=The Daily Dot}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fogel |first=Stefanie |date=June 26, 2018 |title=Video Game Developer Dies After Setting Herself on Fire |url=https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/chloe-sagal-death-1202858068/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190608224612/https://variety.com/2018/gaming/news/chloe-sagal-death-1202858068/ |archive-date=June 8, 2019 |access-date=May 17, 2019 |website=Variety}}</ref> which several reports attributed to years of harassment from Kiwi Farms.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Morgan |first=Joe |date=June 29, 2018 |title=Bullied trans game developer dies after setting herself on fire |url=https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/bullied-trans-game-developer-dies-after-setting-herself-on-fire/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201111091817/https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/bullied-trans-game-developer-dies-after-setting-herself-on-fire/ |archive-date=November 11, 2020 |access-date=June 29, 2021 |website=Gay Star News}}</ref>
Julie Terryberry, a Canadian woman, died by suicide in 2016 following sustained harassment from Kiwi Farms users.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Wesolowski |first=Sébastien |date=May 27, 2020 |title=Vaches à lol: dans l'Internet qui harcèle pour s'amuser |trans-title=Lolcows: Inside the Internet which harasses for fun |url=https://www.vice.com/fr/article/vaches-a-lol-dans-linternet-qui-harcele-pour-samuser/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211001/https://www.vice.com/fr/article/wxq55y/vaches-a-lol-dans-linternet-qui-harcele-pour-samuser |archive-date=October 1, 2021 |access-date=June 30, 2021 |website=Vice |language=fr}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="Insider-Colombo">{{Cite web |last=Colombo |first=Charlotte |date=August 3, 2021 |title=Kiwi Farms, the forum that has been linked to 3 suicides, was made to troll Chris Chan years before she was arrested on an incest charge |url=https://www.insider.com/chris-chan-arrest-what-is-kiwifarms-the-forum-exposed-her-2021-8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211001/https://www.insider.com/chris-chan-arrest-what-is-kiwifarms-the-forum-exposed-her-2021-8 |archive-date=October 1, 2021 |access-date=August 4, 2021 |website=Insider}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Following Terryberry's death, Joshua Moon posted a note on the forum claiming that Kiwi Farms and its users had no responsibility for the suicide.<ref name="NewYork" />
{{anchor|Near}} In a Twitter thread posted on June 27, 2021<!-- see Special:Permalink/1036113628#Incorrect date -->, Near, a pseudonymous Japan-based software developer known for their work on the video game emulator higan, described long-term harassment from Kiwi Farms users. Near, who was non-binary, said that they had endured lifelong bullying but that the abuse had recently centralized around Kiwi Farms, which had "made the harassment orders of magnitude worse".<ref name=":4" /><ref name="Near Suicide Kotaku">{{Cite news |last=Kotaku Staff |date=June 28, 2021 |title=The Brilliant SNES Emulator Author Known As Near Has Died |work=Kotaku |url=https://kotaku.com/the-brilliant-snes-emulator-creator-known-as-near-has-d-1847182851 |url-status=live |access-date=June 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627225413/https://kotaku.com/the-brilliant-snes-emulator-creator-known-as-near-has-d-1847182851 |archive-date=June 27, 2021}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Klepek |first=Patrick |date=June 29, 2021 |title=What I Learned From Near, an Emulation Legend and Real Person |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/what-i-learned-from-near-an-emulation-legend-and-real-person/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629155531/https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkbz4b/what-i-learned-from-near-an-emulation-legend-and-real-person |archive-date=June 29, 2021 |access-date=June 29, 2021 |website=Vice News}}</ref> Near stated that they and their friends had been doxxed and goaded into suicide by members of the website, and that Near had been mocked for being autistic.<ref name=":4" /><ref name="Near Suicide Kotaku" /><ref name=":1" /> On June 28, Hector Martin posted a link to a Google Doc which he said came from a mutual friend of his and Near's, which said that Near had died by suicide, and alleged that the harassment from Kiwi Farms amounted to murder.<ref name="Near Suicide Kotaku" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name="Near Suicide PC Gamer">{{Cite news |last=Macgregor |first=Jody |date=June 28, 2021 |title=Near, creator of the higan and bsnes emulators, has died |work=PC Gamer |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/near-creator-of-the-higan-and-bsnes-emulators-has-died/ |url-status=live |access-date=June 28, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630003143/https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/near-creator-of-the-higan-and-bsnes-emulators-has-died/ |archive-date=June 30, 2021}}</ref> Martin subsequently reported on June 28 that he had spoken to police who confirmed that Near had died the previous day.<ref name="Near Suicide Kotaku" /><ref name="Near Suicide PC Gamer" /> ''USA Today'' reported on July 23, 2021, that it had confirmed with Near's former employer that they had died.<ref name=":4" />
== Christchurch mosque shootings == In March 2019, Kiwi Farms republished both the livestream and the manifesto of Brenton Tarrant, the perpetrator of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings. Shortly after, website owner Joshua Moon publicly denied a request by New Zealand Police to voluntarily hand over all data on posts about the shooting, including the email and IP addresses of forum posters.<ref name="bayer">{{Cite news |last=Bayer |first=Kurt |date=April 10, 2019 |title=Owner of notorious 8chan internet site in bid to deflect blame for role in Christchurch mosque terror attacks |work=The New Zealand Herald |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12220990 |url-status=live |access-date=May 7, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190504114633/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12220990 |archive-date=May 4, 2019}}</ref> Moon responded aggressively and mockingly, calling New Zealand a "shithole country",<ref name="Newshub" /><ref name="bayer" /> and stated that he did not "give a single solitary fuck what section 50 of your faggot law (referring to the Policing Act 2008) says about sharing [the New Zealand Police's] email."<ref>{{Cite news |last=O'Neill |first=Marnie |date=March 19, 2019 |title=Website Kiwi Farms refuses to surrender data linked to accused Christchurch terrorist Brendan Tarrant |work=news.com.au |url=https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/website-kiwi-farms-refuses-to-surrender-data-linked-to-accused-christchurch-terrorist-brendan-tarrant/news-story/46d3c925ef84b24dde6194c42b3c2241 |url-status=live |access-date=March 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318231916/https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/website-kiwi-farms-refuses-to-surrender-data-linked-to-accused-christchurch-terrorist-brendan-tarrant/news-story/46d3c925ef84b24dde6194c42b3c2241 |archive-date=March 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Christchurch mosque shootings: Website Kiwi Farms refuses to surrender data linked to accused |work=The New Zealand Herald |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12214017 |url-status=live |access-date=March 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318195856/https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12214017 |archive-date=March 18, 2019}}</ref> He deemed the request a censorship attempt and maintained that New Zealand authorities "do not have the clout to eradicate a video from the Internet" and "do not have the legal reach to imprison everyone whose {{sic}} posted it."<ref name="Newshub" /> Kiwi Farms was one of several websites blocked by New Zealand Internet service providers after the attack.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=Rowe |first=Dan |date=March 19, 2019 |title=The online cesspits where hate found a home |url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-03-2019/the-online-cesspits-where-hate-found-a-home/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122200115/https://thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-03-2019/the-online-cesspits-where-hate-found-a-home/ |archive-date=January 22, 2021 |access-date=June 27, 2021 |website=The Spinoff}}</ref> In New Zealand, those who were caught possessing or sharing images or videos of the attack faced charges that could result in 14-year prison sentences.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Onyanga-Omara |first=Jane |title=New Zealand mosque shootings: Six in court on charges they sent attack images |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/04/15/new-zealand-mosque-attacks-six-court-charges-over-images/3470478002/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021050932/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2019/04/15/new-zealand-mosque-attacks-six-court-charges-over-images/3470478002/ |archive-date=October 21, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=April 15, 2019 |title=Six Charged in New Zealand for Sharing Mosque Shooting Video Online |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-zealand-christchurch-mosque-shooting-facebook-charges-822280/ |url-status=live |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022041347/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/new-zealand-christchurch-mosque-shooting-facebook-charges-822280/ |archive-date=October 22, 2020 |access-date=October 20, 2020}}</ref>
==Legal disputes==
===Contributory copyright infringement lawsuit=== In 2020, ''pro se'' litigant Russell Greer filed a contributory copyright infringement lawsuit against Joshua Moon and Kiwi Farms.<ref name = "ProSe">{{cite web |last=Kennedy|first=Deirdre|date=March 5, 2024|title=COPYRIGHT NEWS: Notorious ‘stalker’ website petitions Supreme Court to overturn Tenth Circuit’s contributory infringement finding, (Mar 5, 2024) |url=https://www.vitallaw.com/news/copyright-news-notorious-stalker-website-petitions-supreme-court-to-overturn-tenth-circuit-s-contributory-infringement-finding/ipm01afec329dedf24dcc816513c70f7e6f77 |website=VitalLaw|access-date=March 7, 2026}}</ref><ref name = "dubiousprecedent">{{Cite web |date=October 18, 2023 | last = Belanger | first = Ashley |title=Kiwi Farms ruling sets “dubious” copyright precedent, expert warns |url=https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/10/court-ruling-may-doom-kiwi-farms-but-set-dubious-copyright-precedent/ |access-date=March 7, 2026 |website=Ars Technica |language=en}}</ref> Greer had previously emailed Moon a DMCA takedown notice after website users had shared the entirety of his 2017 self-published book ''Why I Sued Taylor Swift and How I Became Falsely Known as Frivolous, Litigious, and Crazy'', in addition to one of his songs, as well as allegedly his other copyrighted works. In response to Greer's take down notice, Moon published it to the forum. The case was dismissed in 2021 when the court ruled that Greer had failed to show that Moon and Kiwi Farms had "intentionally caused, induced, or materially contributed to the direct infringement".<ref name = "dubiousprecedent"/> In October 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed the lower court's dismissal and remanded the case to proceed in a lower court.<ref name = "dubiousprecedent"/> In March 2024, the defendants filed a petition for ''certiorari'' to the Supreme Court of the United States to overturn the reversal, which was rejected in May 2024.<ref name = "ProSe"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 13, 2024 | last = Jahner | first = Kyle |title=Taylor Swift Fan’s Copyright Win Stands as Justices Pass on Case |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/taylor-swift-fans-copyright-win-stands-as-justices-pass-on-case |access-date=March 7, 2026 |website=Bloomberg Law |language=en}}</ref>
===Defamation lawsuit=== In May 2023, developer advocate Liz Fong-Jones brought a defamation case against the Brisbane-based company Flow Chemical and its director, Vincent Zhen. The lawsuit alleged that the company was helping to keep Kiwi Farms, which has doxxed and targeted her and other LGBTQ people, online. Because Flow Chemical and Zhen did not defend the case, an interlocutory judgment was made against them in July 2023, and in October 2023 they were ordered to pay Fong-Jones {{currency|445,000|AUD}} plus costs.<ref name="guard-22oct2023">{{cite news |last1=Bogel |first1=Ariel |title=Defamation in the internet age: could a $400,000 Australian court ruling silence the notorious online forum Kiwi Farms? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/oct/23/defamation-in-the-internet-age-could-a-400000-australian-court-ruling-silence-the-notorious-online-forum-kiwi-farms |access-date=22 October 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=22 October 2023}}</ref>
=== Ofcom lawsuit === In August 2025, Lolcow LLC and the imageboard 4chan's managing company filed a lawsuit against the British government's Office of Communication (Ofcom) in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nguyen |first=Tina |date=2025-08-27 |title=4Chan and Kiwi Farms file joint lawsuit against the UK |url=https://www.theverge.com/social/767063/4chan-kiwi-farms-lawsuit-uk-ofcom |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite web |date=2025-08-27 |title=4chan launches legal case against Ofcom in US federal court |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyjq40vjl7o |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> The lawsuit stated that the Office of Communication, while enforcing the Online Safety Act, had threatened to impose civil penalties and conduct arrests against the two companies for actions that are lawful and constitutionally protected in the United States.<ref name=":13" /> The complaint demanded that the court declare that actions were in defiance of the first, fourth and fifth American constitutional amendments, and asked the court to impose a permanent injunction prohibiting the agency from enforcing the Act against US-based companies.<ref name=":13" />
== References == <references>
<ref name="Veale">{{Cite book |last=Veale |first=Kevin |title=Gaming the Dynamics of Online Harassment |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |year=2020 |isbn=978-3-030-60410-3 |pages=87–106 |chapter=Gaming the Rules |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-60410-3_4 |s2cid=229257581}}</ref>
</references> ==External links== *{{wikiquote-inline}}
Category:2010s in Internet culture Category:2020s in Internet culture Category:Ableism Category:Alt-tech Category:American websites Category:Cyberbullying Category:Cyberstalking Category:Discrimination against LGBTQ people Category:Discrimination against transgender people Category:Internet forums Category:Internet properties established in 2013 Category:Internet trolling Category:Internet-related controversies