Cheeky Internet Shenanigans

As Justin Bieber contemplates an ill-advised "Suicide Tour" to North Korea, we can all rest easy that the Internet remains as anarchic, witty and ridiculous as ever. What started as a marketing ploy to encourage people to vote on where Bieber should tour, quickly developed into a viral campaign to send him to Kim Jong-il's dictatorship.

Amusing yes, surprising no. This is just the latest prank in a long history of internet anarchy, which stamps on any brand, celebrity or individual who naively opens themselves up to the web. A lot of it comes from 4chan (very much NSFW), the lawless image posting site, but the whole online community has always been averse to rules. Here are some of our favourites examples.


Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf- In 1998, at the very birth of the internet, a vote for People.com’s Most Beautiful Person of the year gave an unexpected winner.
The Penguin- A competition to redesign the UGC boot went spectactularly wrong when this ugly design won.
BMX-  This is why you don't ask the internet for help.
Rage against the Machine- Facebook-organized campaign to deny Simon Cowell number 1.
Skittles Twitter- A good example of big-brand naivety and an over-the-top reaction from cruel tweeters, who abused the open twitter feed. (See also CashGordon and MyDavidcameron for political examples)
Amazon Reviews- The internet has outdone itself in hunting out the useless and weird amongst  Amazon's product catalogue. Have a read of the brilliantly written comments for the Tuscan Milk and related products.