“The Most Hated Man On The Internet” Review: The Rise And Fall Of The Revenge Porn King

Everybody’s got skeletons in their closets. An embarassing picture from high school or maybe a not-so-well-aged tweet you’d like to be remvoed from the face of the Earth. Well, what happens when some of your most personal and intimate pictures and videos falls into the hands of a sadistic pervert? Well, you get the story of Hunter Moore. A man, who during the early days of social media, decided to create an illegal pornographic website, “Is Anyone Up?”, displaying explicit pictures of men and women that were hacked from their Gmail, Facebook and Twitter accounts. A man who frequently taunted his victims and refused to take down their private photos even after they begged him to. All the while, profiting off the misery and suffering of others. At some point, he was even deemed “The Most Hated Man on the Internet” (roll credits)!

This three-episode documentary on Netflix delves into the rise and fall of Moore and how the online community build the man up and also took him down. It’s made by the creators behind one of Netflix’s most popular docuseries “Don’t F**k with Cats”. Similar to the previous docuseries, “The Most Hated Man on the Internet” will also be focusing on those who sought to bring Moore to justice. Can their latest docuseries match the hype and intensity of the feline magnum opus? Let’s find out!

One major concern we had about “The Most Hated on the Internet” was whether or not it could hold our attention. In the year 2022, there’s very little that we’d consider shocking. Especially when it comes to the way the internet operates. So in light of documentaries like “Cyber Hell: Exposing Internet Horror”, would there be enough shock value and novelty to keep us engaged? Honestly, no in spite of its best efforts. The docuseries constantly amplifies the humanity of Hunter Moore’s victims and how they were victims of exploitation. Yet at the same time, we couldn’t help but find Netflix’s sensationalist exploration on the subject hypocritical. Hence, it doesn’t quite make us ponder on the nature of human evil the way “The Sons of Sam” or “The Nilsen Tapes” did.

So if you came in with an appetite for the macabre or disturbing, you’ll most likely leave disappointed. As an internet detective story though, “The Most Hated Man on the Internet” is a bit of good fun. In an era before cyber-protection laws, how do you convict someone of stealing information and posting it up online? The answer to that question comes in the form of an avenging mother, Charlotte Laws who does everything in her power to ensure that Moore pays for his crimes.

The first episode does a fairly effective job of laying out the background behind the revenge porn website and its founder. Though, the extent in which it drums up the danger his followers pose borders on repetitive. The majority of the episode is dedicated to Charlotte and her daughter Kayla wrestling with Moore before eventually achieving a breakthrough. One that would further inspire Charlotte to pursue her mission of ensuring that every girl on the website is vindicated.

Her passion and dedication comes through in the interviews and adds a layer of excitement to the affair. One of the odder and more tragic part of the docuseries is focused on the life of a woman Destiny Benedict, also known as “Butthole Girl”. It’s a sad tale of how a young mother had to resort to degrading herself to support her family. Just one of the many victims who were caught in a vicious cycle of abuse by Moore and his edgelord gang.

The second episode is when the docuseries begins to grow beyond the narrative scope of just Moore and his victims. There are intersecting narratives involving reporter Camille Dodero from a local newsite “The Village Voice”, FBI Agent Jeff Kirkpatrick and anti-bullying advocate James McGibney. The three of them working on their end of things to take down Moore. All noble souls by their own right but the way the docuseries goes to great lengths to depict them as heroes can be see as over-indulgent.

There are some lines in here that will definitely have you rolling your eyes at them. Especially with Charlotte. Part of the fun of “Don’t F**k wih Cats” was the fact that it was a bunch of lonely misfits who banded together to catch an animal abuser. “The Most Hated Man on the Internet” is lacking a lot of that oddball charm that makes for a likeable cast of characters. Similar to the first episode, this one also tracks Moore’s rise to noteriety with his appearance in an interview with Anderson Cooper. If this docuseries manages to accomplish anything, it’s in its ability to inspire our contempt for how much of an utter garbage person Moore is.

The third episode, much like any final act in a film, sees the team triumphantly find the silver bullet that brings Moore to justice. It provides an emotionally satisfying resolution to Charlotte and Kayla’ journey for justice. As they close in on the prolific professional life-ruiner, the stakes are raised as Moore unleashes his followers upon them. Only to be met with resistance from other allies on the net. At long last, Moore faces the courts and is sentenced…and it just ends? We would have liked to have seen the docuseries dive a little deeper into what Moore has been up to lately seeing that he was released in 2017. The man clearly opened the way for other heinous practices online. The impact of his website on today’s culture of sexual exploitation online is a discussion worth having. One that who would have provided some much needed depth to this investigation.

Rob Miller and company deliver an entertaining three-part journey of how a mother alongside a cadre of crusaders took down the King of Revenge Porn. While it doesn’t quite have have the same shock or bite of Miller’s previous work, and its subject matter is quite quaint compared to the wilder stories online, “The Most Hated Man on the Internet” is a simple, powerful reminder that justice can done, even over a computer screen. On that note, remember to always keep yourself secured online, you never know whose watching.

You can now catch “The Most Hated Man on the Internet” on Netflix today!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySFpxEdKxMw&ab_channel=Netflix

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