Some called him the “King of Revenge-Porn,” and he publicly referred to himself as a “professional life ruiner.” Hunter Moore was the best example of the worst human being in the early days of nude photos of people, mostly women, being posted online without their consent. The site was known as IsAnyoneUp (dot) com
In the new docu-series, The Most Hated Man on the Internet, we see the meteoric rise and, thankfully, the inevitable fall of a 24 year old whose depraved hatefulness not only brought him millions of hits and thousands of dollars, but also, and most disturbingly, legions of “fans” who posted comments on the photos meant to harass, ridicule and blackmail the women, most of whom had never posted the photos themselves, except by email to themselves or intimate partners.
The series braids together several different, adrenaline inducing strands: there’s the mother whose daughter’s photo appeared on the site- a photo she had never sent to anyone except herself because her phone had run out of storage. So how did it get from her email to the website?
That question opens a door to a former Marine who entices Moore to sell his domain. And then there’s the thorough but frustratingly slow FBI investigation. They get involved not because of the photos being posted without consent (which didn’t yet have proper laws on the books, because Moore shielded himself by saying the photos were “submitted” by the site’s visitors.
Because the story is revealed in steps and layers, I will not be more specific.
The story is infuriating, yes – but we watch leaning forward because we know (this is not a spoiler) that Moore is going to lose the cat and mouse game.
So, every time we see Moore on 10 year old clips from talk shows and radio appearances, openly bragging about his sociopathic glee in harming innocent people, even posting their names, addresses and social media accounts, we feel our blood pressure going up and then back down – up again, and then back down.
Because it essentially has a happy ending for the victims, I can say that I “enjoyed” the series. I can say it was “satisfying” and “entertaining” and, damn, it was so good to see this horrible human being get what’s coming to him.
If I had any complaint, it would be that we don’t hear about Moore’s personal history enough. We know the Marine who got Moore’s web address away from him was a childhood victim of bullying, but what about Moore’s younger life steered him into such misogyny? What possible trauma or family circumstances made him delight in ruining lives? I would have liked to hear more on that angle.
The Most Hated Man on the Internet is currently streaming on Netflix