Over the past few years, revenge porn has become endemic. Keep an eye on the news and you’ll see it’s peppered with stories about people (mainly men) who have been caught posting naked pictures of their exes on the internet. Last week a paramedic was struck off for posting pictures of his ex-girlfriend. A week before that, two women went to court after filming their friend having sex and posting it on Facebook. West Midlands police just announced that it has investigated a 10-year-old on suspicion of posting revenge porn. It’s one of the least edifying aspects of the internet, and it seems to be unstoppable.
All of which makes Netflix’s new series The Most Hated Man on the Internet one of the most upsettingly timely documentaries in recent memory. Essentially a history lesson, it tells the story of IsAnyoneUp.com, a site that for two years revelled in posting intimate pictures of women, almost always submitted without their consent by spurned ex-lovers. The site quickly grew a large and entitled following, and its founder became its messianic ringleader, developing a cult of personality that only expanded its notoriety.
