Time Magazine intentionally designed an internet poll to prove that internet polling is stupid. Or they intentionally designed an internet poll to prove that they themselves are stupid. Maybe both.
Here’s how Time describes the results:
In a stunning result, the winner of the third annual TIME 100 poll and new owner of the title World’s Most Influential Person is moot. The 21-year-old college student and founder of the online community 4chan.org, whose real name is Christopher Poole, received 16,794,368 votes and an average influence rating of 90 (out of a possible 100) to handily beat the likes of Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin and Oprah Winfrey. To put the magnitude of the upset in perspective, it’s worth noting that everyone moot beat out actually has a job.
Time continued:
Undoubtedly, many people will question moot’s worthiness of the title World’s Most Influential Person. TIME.com managing editor Josh Tyrangiel says moot is no less deserving than previous title holders like Nintendo video-game designer Shigeru Miyamoto (2007) and Korean pop star Rain (2006). “I would remind anyone who doubts the results that this is an Internet poll,” he says. “Doubting the results is kind of the point.”
Time’s circulation is plummeting. And they seem to think that the way to reverse that trend is to conduct and promote a poll that they themselves admit is meaningless.
What the hell. It’s an improvement over just plain making crap up.
Source: Time Magazine
This post was last modified on January 26, 2021
View Comments (5)
FYI, Moot did not personally orchestrate this venture, and the majority of 4chan users are kids who have no idea how to write scripts that will allow them to use "bots" to fix the results of an internet poll. At the time this poll ran, there were countless threads on 4chan devoted to "rallying the troops," and their success is a testament to the popularity of 4chan, as well as their ability to unite in order to work toward a common goal, however frivolous. Today's 4channers are the leaders of tomorrow. How disheartening is THAT?
moot is actually DESERVING of it though, 4chan has become the internet's final boss.
though im still pissed it isnt Miyamoto, that man changed my life, he deserves everything!
also, the polls were hacked...sorta, bots controlled them to say " marblecake also the game"
its like how they rick rolled that baseball team, its all about bots, these are not legit results, thats why some stupid names are up there. the funniest thing though, is that for moot's "four chan five years" image, he chose a time magazine cover with 4chan and moot on it. this has been planned since the last poll, pretty neat that we was able to command the internet like that.
jus saying,
This is two comments in a row now in which you are "confused." Get it together man, Did you read the first paragraph.
seriously? the poll was easily hijacked by 4chan followers, who also manipulated the results to make sure the first letter of the top 25 spelled some sentence ("Marblecake, also, the game" i think). you look as bumbling as Time does. Well done.
at least the kid is smarter than the pollsters at Time..