?? Da Online Meme Group Dat Wen Reveal Secret Military Kine Stuff
Da young peeps culture an national defense wen crash into one community wea dey stay known foa edgy jokes. Da YouTube celeb dey stay dedicated to wen look surprise like everybody else.
Inside one small part of da internet, had dis online group wit couple thousand peeps dat wen follow one YouTube celeb named wow_mao. Was on top Discord, wea da young peeps who like wow_mao wen share funny kine images an tell edgy, sometimes no taste jokes. ??
Ova da weekend, wow_mao’s group wen get all kine international attention wen everybody wen find out dat one volunteer moderator inside da group wen share images of leaked documents showing secret Pentagon intelligence. ?️♂️?
Fo wow_mao, was all little bit too much, yeah? On Tuesday, he wen say he just one 20-year-old college student from Britain. Da day befoa, he wen make one YouTube video, say he one “internet micro-celebrity, an I like stay dat way.” ??
Da way dat internet young peeps culture an national security wen slam togedda might look all mix up, but it’s happening moa an moa nowadays. An da classified documents showing up on Discord, dat’s just one reminder how da digital world stay affecting real life in sometimes dangerous ways. ??
Da Biden administration stay trying foa fix da damage from da leaked info, which looks like get national security secrets about U.S. enemies like Russia an China, an even allies like Ukraine an South Korea. Da FBI wen start investigating da leak on Friday, but da top U.S. officials neva talk plenny bout it dis week. ???️♀️
“We no know who stay behind dis. We no know wat da reason stay,” John F. Kirby, da National Security Council spokesman, wen say on Monday. “We no know wat else might be out dea.” ?♂️
No moa any oddah part of da internet dat wen help moa free, fun kine talk den Discord, which wen start foa da video game playas befoa it wen get popular wit everybody during da pandemic. Get choke stuff happening on Discord servers dat stay all good, like music fans talking bout dea favorite artists an Minecraft players sharing memes. ??
But da no-filter, edgy talk inside da wow_mao server, called da End of Wow Mao Zone, an oddah servers like dat, sometimes dey go da wrong way. People say dey like 4chan’s less mean family, which stay one far-right anonymous message board known foa sharing conspiracy theories an making QAnon popular. Plenny 4chan users stay going between Discord an 4chan, sharing digital memes an talking story wit friends. ??
Da dark kine humor about race o ideology, sometimes can change how da young peeps tink, an even da funny memes can turn into hate symbols, da researchers say. ??
“If you one young guy wit no moa chance, an you hanging out on 4chan, you fo sho on some Discords an maybe some real dark Discords,” said Dale Beran, one lecturer at Morgan State University an da author of “It Came from Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump into Office.” ??
One 18-year-old gunman wen use Discord foa record his thoughts, talk wit friends, an share racist memes from 4chan befoa he wen shoot an kill 10 peeps an injure 3 oddahs at one grocery store in Buffalo last year. He wen get life in prison in February. ??
White supremacists also wen use Discord foa plan da “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. Afta dat, Discord wen try foa make dea content moderation moa betta, an in 2020 dey wen write dat dey get “responsibility foa make shua Discord no stay used foa hate, violence or harm.” ??
But da site still mostly stay counting on reports from da users foa find problems, especially inside da private, invite-only Discord servers. Discord stay made up of chat rooms, wit big public groups dat get strict content moderation an small private ones dat no moa any or jus little bit. Discord wen say dey stay working wit law enforcement foa investigate da leaked documents, but neva like talk moa. ??
Inside one live audio chat on top da wow_mao Discord on Monday, users wen mostly talk about movies an complain bout dea parents. But sometimes dey go da wrong way wit racist language. ??
Fo da young peeps, dese no-respect chat rooms get one special kine attraction.
“Dis da way dey talk wea dea questions can get answered in da language dey undastand. Dey wen grow up all soaked in memes an ironic, winky behavior,” Mr. Beran wen say. He wen add dat dese communities might look harmless at first, “but taken to da extreme, it turns into one bad criminal problem, o even one terrorist problem.” ??
Video game playas wen reportedly leak classified military secrets befoa, jus foa show dea point in online arguments an try make game developers make moa accurate combat vehicles. ??
Da New York Times wen contact wow_mao tru his YouTube channel an da Discord server, an on top one audio call made tru Discord on Tuesday, he wen talk plenny wit one New York Times reporter. He wen say he no stay on da Discord server too much an mostly stay focused on his YouTube channel, wea he get about 250,000 subscribers, an also his social life an college studies. He no like share his real name cuz he stay worried bout safety an privacy, but he say he stay British an Filipino. ?????
Wow_mao not one celeb in da traditional way, o even among da internet influencers. But even tho he stay anonymous, his channel wen get plenny followers cuz his videos stay funny foa da peeps who get da same kine humor. ??
He wen say his stuff come from his interest in geopolitics an history — “neva dis much interested, my gosh!” — an one desire foa make crazy videos dat stay funny cuz he “put so much effort into something so stupid.” ??
But he wen say he stay worried bout how da Discord server stay going. He tink maybe get some “real right-leaning” teens who wen come foa his no-respect content, but he “absolutely” no stay wit dea way of thinking. ?♂️?
“I jus wen let bunch of kids go wild,” wow_mao wen add. “I do regret, maybe, not moderating my server lil bit moa betta.” ?
But da fact dat da leaked documents wen show up dea, he wen say, stay “hilarious.” ?
“Da documents wen spread to da most small kine, nerdy parts of da internet,” he wen say. “Dat’s da kine peeps who would find dese documents — losers. Dat’s who da U.S. government really gotta worry about.” ??
Da young, tech-savvy peeps often get less respect foa da government, wow_mao wen say, “an dey always goin’ find um funny foa tease dem an cut undah dem in some kine way.” ??
In early March, one usah on top da wow_mao server named Lucca wen upload page afta page of da classified info, according to screenshots wen share by usahs who wen investigate da leak. Da origins of da documents wen reported earlier by Bellingcat. ?️?
Da documents wen get moa attention afta dey wen post two days latah in one server dedicated to Minecraft, wea one usah look like dey wen share dem during one argument. ??
“Hea, get some leaked documents,” da usah wen say, befoa he wen upload some of dem. ?
“Nice,” anoddah usah wen reply. ?
Da posts wen stay online foa almost one month befoa dey wen start get attention outside of Discord. Usahs on 4chan wen post images from da documents as early as April 5. One pro-Russian channel on da messaging app Telegram wen share da images latah dat day. Usahs on Twitter wen take notice, an so did da world. ??
Da Discord servers an da usahs who thought foa be behind da documents wen get all kine attention. One Twitter account wit da name MrLucca, who wen use da same profile photo from da Lucca Discord account, wen say he wen get da documents from anoddah Discord server. ??
“Found some info from one now banned server an wen pass um on,” da usah wen write, according to screenshots of da conversation. Da Twitter an Discord accounts wen get deleted aftah. ??️
Fo da usahs on top da wow_mao server, da attention wen stay jus one small kine distraction between memes an jokes. On top Easter Sunday, usahs wen mourn Lucca’s leaving wit one meme showing him as Jesus, rising from da grave. ??
Fo wow_mao himself, da whole ting wen turn into one chance foa moa content. He wen say da numbah of membahs in his Discord server wen jump to about 7,000 from about 4,000 befoa da news of da documents wen break. ??
“Any kine publicity stay good publicity, I guess, as long as I no land in jail,” he wen say. ??
He wen end his YouTube video by telling da viewahs foa support him by subscribing to his Patreon, one donation platform popular wit content creators. Den he wen share dat video on Twitter wit one message: “da cia may have put me on dea watchlist.. but i should be on YOURS too!” ???
So, das da full story foa you.
NOW IN ENGLISH
?? The Online Meme Group That Revealed Secret Military Information
In a small corner of the internet, there was an online group of a few thousand people who followed a YouTube celebrity named wow_mao. This group existed on Discord, where young fans of wow_mao shared humorous images and told edgy, sometimes tasteless jokes. ??
Over the weekend, wow_mao’s group gained international attention when it was discovered that a volunteer moderator in the group shared images of leaked documents showing secret Pentagon intelligence. ?️♂️?
For wow_mao, this was a bit overwhelming. On Tuesday, he claimed to be just a 20-year-old college student from Britain. The day before, he made a YouTube video, saying he was an “internet micro-celebrity, and I’d like to stay that way.” ??
The collision of internet youth culture and national security may seem confusing, but it’s happening more and more these days. The classified documents appearing on Discord serve as a reminder of how the digital world can impact real life in sometimes dangerous ways. ??
The Biden administration is trying to contain the damage from the leaked information, which appears to contain national security secrets about U.S. enemies like Russia and China, and even allies like Ukraine and South Korea. The FBI started investigating the leak on Friday, but top U.S. officials haven’t said much about it this week. ???️♀️
“We don’t know who’s behind this. We don’t know what the motive is,” John F. Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, said on Monday. “We don’t know what else might be out there.” ?♂️
Few places on the internet have enabled more free, fun conversation than Discord, which began as a platform for video game players before becoming popular with a wider audience during the pandemic. There are countless positive interactions on Discord servers, like music fans talking about their favorite artists and Minecraft players sharing memes. ??
But the no-filter, edgy conversations in the wow_mao server, called the End of Wow Mao Zone, and others like it, can sometimes go awry. Some describe them as a less vicious version of 4chan, a far-right anonymous message board known for sharing conspiracy theories and helping make QAnon popular. Many 4chan users move between Discord and 4chan, sharing digital memes and chatting with friends. ??
The dark humor about race or ideology can sometimes influence young people’s thinking, and even seemingly harmless memes can turn into hate symbols, according to researchers. ??
“If you’re a young guy with no prospects, and you’re hanging out on 4chan, you’re definitely on some Discords and maybe some really dark Discords,” said Dale Beran, a lecturer at Morgan State University and the author of “It Came from Something Awful: How a Toxic Troll Army Accidentally Memed Donald Trump into Office.” ??
An 18-year-old gunman used Discord to record his thoughts, chat with friends, and share racist memes from 4chan before shooting and killing 10 people and injuring three others at a grocery store in Buffalo last year. He was sentenced to life in prison in February. ??
White supremacists also used Discord to plan the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017. Afterward, Discord tried to improve its content moderation, and in 2020, it stated that it had a “responsibility to make sure Discord is not used for hate, violence, or harm.” ??
However, the site still largely relies on user reports to identify issues, especially within private, invite-only Discord servers. Discord is composed of chat rooms, with large public groups that have strict content moderation and smaller private ones with little or no moderation. Discord said they are working with law enforcement to investigate the leaked documents but declined to comment further. ??
During a live audio chat on the wow_mao Discord on Monday, users mostly discussed movies and complained about their parents. However, sometimes the conversations veered into racist language. ??
For young people, these irreverent chat rooms hold a particular appeal.
“This is the way they talk where their questions can be answered in the language they understand. They grew up steeped in memes and ironic, wink-wink behavior,” Mr. Beran said. He added that these communities might seem harmless at first, “but taken to the extreme, it turns into a serious criminal problem, or even a terrorist problem.” ??
Video game players have reportedly leaked classified military secrets before, just to prove a point in online arguments and to push game developers to create more accurate combat vehicles. ??
The New York Times contacted wow_mao through his YouTube channel and the Discord server, and on an audio call through Discord on Tuesday, he spoke at length with a New York Times reporter. He said he doesn’t spend much time on the Discord server and mostly focuses on his YouTube channel, which has about 250,000 subscribers, as well as his social life and college studies. He declined to share his real name due to concerns for safety and privacy, but he identified himself as British and Filipino. ?????
Wow_mao is not a celebrity in the traditional sense or even among internet influencers. Yet, despite his anonymity, his channel has gained a large following because his videos appeal to those with a similar sense of humor. ??
He said his content stems from his interest in geopolitics and history — “never this much interested, my gosh!” — and a desire to create outrageous videos that are funny because he “puts so much effort into something so stupid.” ??
But he expressed concern about how the Discord server has evolved. He thinks there may be some “far-right-leaning” teens who came for his irreverent content, but he “absolutely” does not agree with their views. ?♂️?
“I just let a bunch of kids go wild,” wow_mao added. “I do regret, maybe, not moderating my server a little bit better.” ?
As for the leaked documents appearing on his server, he said it was “hilarious.” ?
“The documents spread to the most obscure, nerdy parts of the internet,” he said. “That’s the kind of people who would find these documents — losers. That’s who the U.S. government really has to worry about.” ??
Young, tech-savvy individuals often have less respect for the government, wow_mao said, “and they’re always going to find it funny to tease them and undercut them in some way.” ??
In early March, a user on the wow_mao server named Lucca uploaded page after page of classified information, according to screenshots shared by users who investigated the leak. The origins of the documents were reported earlier by Bellingcat. ?️?
