# Internet Hate Machine > Internet Hate Machine is the 2007 KTTV news term for Anonymous, pairing absurd "hackers on steroids" rhetoric with an exploding van clip, later adopted ironically as slang for coordinated online harassment. "Internet Hate Machine" is a phrase coined by Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV during a July 2007 news segment about Anonymous, which portrayed the group as "hackers on steroids" and "domestic terrorists." The over-the-top language, paired with an unrelated clip of an exploding van, struck Anonymous members and internet users as so absurd that the label was immediately adopted as an ironic badge of honor[4]. The term later expanded beyond Anonymous to describe any form of coordinated online pile-on or cyberbullying. ## Origin On July 26, 2007, KTTV Fox 11 in Los Angeles aired an investigative segment about Anonymous. The report characterized the group as hackers, cyber bullies, and "domestic terrorists," coining the phrase "Internet Hate Machine" to describe them[4]. The segment also called Anonymous "hackers on steroids" and cut to footage of a van exploding, which had no actual connection to Anonymous activity[5]. An informant interviewed for the piece spoke with a distorted voice, giving the whole segment an unintentionally comedic noir quality that 4chan users found hilarious[7]. The following day, July 27, a thread discussing the Fox report appeared on 4chan's /a/ (anime) board, where users mocked the segment's overblown claims[7]. Reactions ranged from ironic pride ("we are the Internet Hate Machine") to users joking about whether 4chan would be shut down[7]. One user received a memorable ban tag reading "USER WAS FEATURED ON FOX FOR THIS POST"[7]. - **Platform:** KTTV Fox 11 (television broadcast), 4chan (viral adoption) - **Creator:** KTTV Fox 11 News (coining), Anonymous community (ironic adoption) - **Date:** 2007 ## Overview "Internet Hate Machine" originated as a dead-serious label slapped on Anonymous by a local Fox News affiliate trying to explain the group to a mainstream audience. The July 2007 KTTV report painted Anonymous as a shadowy collective of cyber criminals, complete with stock footage of an exploding van meant to represent their real-world threat[4]. The gap between the breathless reporting and what Anonymous actually did (mostly trolling for laughs) made the phrase an instant in-joke. Members of 4chan and the broader Anonymous community wore the label with pride, turning it into reaction images, YTMND pages, and forum signatures[5]. Over time, the phrase drifted from its Anonymous-specific roots. Journalists and bloggers started using "Internet Hate Machine" as shorthand for the way online mobs form, swarm a target, and move on, whether the target is a teenage pop singer or an Olympic athlete[6][8]. ## How It Spread The phrase moved fast. On July 28, 2007, the KTTV video was linked on the front page of Slashdot, exposing it to a massive tech-savvy audience[4]. That same day, two Urban Dictionary entries defined "Internet Hate Machine" in a joking tone, with one describing Anonymous as "deprived, psychotic individuals" and another mocking Fox 11's over-dramatic language[5]. Also on July 28, a thread about the term appeared on pharmaceutical professionals forum CafePharma, where it was mostly met with mockery[4]. On July 29, YouTuber AnonymousHateMachine posted a response video arguing that the news station had completely missed the point of what Anonymous was about[4]. In the following months, two YTMND tribute sites were created around the phrase[4]. The term got a second wave of attention during Project Chanology in 2008, when Anonymous organized real-world protests against the Church of Scientology. During this period, webcomics referenced the "Internet Hate Machine" label. The comic xkcd featured it in a strip titled "Troll Slayer"[1], and Bigger Than Cheeses ran a comic referencing Fox News' "exhaustively researched investigative report into 4chan"[3]. In 2009, Benjamin Nolan, a University of Chicago graduate student, incorporated the phrase into the title of his master's thesis examining political discourse within Anonymous communications[4]. By September 2012, Chanarchive returned over 600 results for "internet hate machine," showing how deeply the phrase had embedded in chan culture[4]. ## How to Use "Internet Hate Machine" is typically used in two ways: 1. **As an ironic self-label:** Members of Anonymous or chan communities call themselves (or their platforms) the "Internet Hate Machine" with tongue-in-cheek pride, referencing the absurd Fox News segment. Common in forum signatures, reaction images, and shitposts. 2. **As cultural commentary:** Writers, journalists, and commentators use the phrase to describe online mob behavior, coordinated harassment, or the way social media amplifies outrage beyond reasonable proportions. In this usage, it's usually deployed critically. ## Cultural Impact The Fox 11 segment became one of the most widely mocked examples of mainstream media attempting to cover internet culture in the late 2000s. The "hackers on steroids" line and the random exploding van clip turned into standalone memes of their own[4][7]. The phrase crossed into academic discourse when Benjamin Nolan used it in his 2009 University of Chicago master's thesis title, treating Anonymous' political communication as a serious subject of study[4]. By the early 2010s, "Internet Hate Machine" had shed its Anonymous-specific origins enough for mainstream writers to apply it broadly. Radio Free Europe's 2012 analysis of the Tom Daley Twitter incident used the phrase to discuss how Twitter's 140-character limit "rewards pithy populists and eschews nuance," making outrage cheap and mob formation easy[6]. ThinkChristian's essay applied it to Christian online communities, arguing the internet's capacity for hate was universal and not limited to any particular group[8]. YouTube users created remix videos and YouTube Poop edits using footage from the original KTTV broadcast, keeping the source material circulating long after the original segment aired[4]. ## Fun Facts - The Fox 11 segment aired on the same day a Navy serviceman was convicted of driving 1,300 miles to commit arson against someone who called him a "nerd" online, giving 4chan users two overlapping internet-meets-reality stories to process at once[7]. - The /a/ board thread reacting to the Fox report featured users photoshopping explosions onto images of Giovanni from Pokemon, treating the Team Rocket leader as the face of the "Internet Hate Machine"[7]. - The Bigger Than Cheeses webcomic about the incident originally planned to include an animated GIF of the exploding van but the creator "totally couldn't be bothered"[3]. - CafePharma, a message board for pharmaceutical professionals, was among the early sites to discuss the term, making it one of the more unlikely places for 4chan culture to surface[4]. - As of September 2012, over 600 Chanarchive posts referenced "internet hate machine"[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Internet Hate Machine? "Internet Hate Machine" is a phrase first used by Fox affiliate KTTV in a July 2007 news segment about Anonymous, describing the group as dangerous hackers and domestic terrorists. It was quickly adopted ironically by the internet community[4]. ### Where did Internet Hate Machine come from? The phrase was coined during a KTTV Fox 11 Los Angeles broadcast on July 26, 2007, as part of a sensationalized report on Anonymous[4]. ### What does Internet Hate Machine mean? Originally it was meant as a scary descriptor for Anonymous. In practice, it's used either as an ironic self-label by chan culture communities or as shorthand for coordinated online mob behavior and harassment[5][6]. ### How do you use Internet Hate Machine? The phrase is typically used ironically to mock overblown media coverage of internet culture, or seriously to describe the way online platforms enable pile-ons and targeted harassment[8]. ### Is Internet Hate Machine still popular? The phrase is a classic piece of internet history. While it peaked during 2007-2012, it's still recognized and referenced when discussing online mob dynamics or the history of Anonymous[4]. ### What was the Fox 11 Anonymous report? A July 26, 2007 news segment by Los Angeles Fox affiliate KTTV that described Anonymous as "hackers on steroids" and "domestic terrorists," featuring an unrelated clip of an exploding van as supposed evidence of their real-world threat[4][5]. ### Why did Anonymous embrace the term? The disconnect between Fox's terrifying portrayal and what Anonymous members actually did (mostly trolling for entertainment) made the label so absurd it became a point of pride and humor within the community[4]. ### What is "hackers on steroids"? A companion phrase from the same Fox 11 broadcast, used alongside "Internet Hate Machine" to describe Anonymous. Like the main phrase, it was immediately turned into an in-joke[4][7]. ### How was the term used outside of Anonymous? Journalists and bloggers applied it to describe any online mob behavior, including the pile-on against Rebecca Black over "Friday" and the Twitter harassment of Olympic diver Tom Daley in 2012[6][8]. ### What happened with Tom Daley and the Internet Hate Machine? After Daley finished fourth at the 2012 Olympics, a Twitter user mocked his deceased father. Daley retweeted it, triggering a massive mob response that Radio Free Europe described using the "Internet Hate Machine" framework[6]. ## References 1. [xkcd: Troll Slayer]() 2. [4chan Chronicle/The Internet Hate Machine - Wikibooks, open books for an open world]() 3. [Bigger Than Cheeses - My webcomic will knife fight your webcomic]() 4. [Internet Hate Machine - Know Your Meme]() 5. [List of Internet phenomena]() 6. [Internet Hate Machine - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Urban Dictionary: internet hate machine]() 8. [Google Search]() 9. [An Orgy Of Outrage: Tom Daley, Twitter, And The Internet Hate Machine]() 10. [chanarchive.org | /a/'s view on fox news | archived from 4chan /a/ - Anime]() 11. [Rob Bell, Rebecca Black and the Internet Hate Machine | Think Christian]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/internet-hate-machine Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library