Adrian Chen: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American journalist}}

| image = Adrian Chen at The Influencers - 2017 (26286566559) (cropped).jpg

| alt = Adrian Chen at The Influencers in 2017

| caption = Adrian Chen at The Influencers in 2017

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1984|11|23}}

| birth_place = [[New York City]], U.S.

| other_names =

| known_for =

'''Adrian Chen''' ({{zh|t=陳力宇|s=陈力宇|first=t|p=Chén Lìyǔ}};<ref>{{cite tweet|user=AdrianChen|author=Adrian Chen|number=788788489525616640|date=19 October 2016|title=My dad sent me my Chinese name for some reason. Extremely accurate:}}</ref> born November 23, 1984) is an American blogger, and former staff writer at ''[[The New Yorker]]''. Chen joined [[Gawker]] in November 2009 as a night shift editor, graduating from an internship position at ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'',<ref name=welcomingmyself>{{cite web|last=Chen |first=Adrian |title=Please Join Me in Welcoming Myself |publisher=Gawker |date=9 November 2009 |url=http://gawker.com/5399952/please-join-me-in-welcoming-myself |accessdate=2012-10-13 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909225925/http://gawker.com/5399952/please-join-me-in-welcoming-myself |archivedate=2013-09-09 }}</ref> and has written extensively on [[Internet culture]], especially [[virtual communities]] such as [[4chan]] and [[Reddit]]. Chen is the creator of ''The Pamphlette'', a "humor publication" for [[Reed College]] students on a piece of letter-size paper.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Pamphlette, Vol. 1, Issue 1|url=http://pamphlette.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/vol1iss1.pdf|accessdate=16 October 2012}}</ref> He has written for ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Chen|first=Adrian|title=Much Ado About Bitcoin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/opinion/much-ado-about-bitcoin.html|accessdate=23 February 2014|newspaper=The New York Times|date=27 November 2013}}</ref> ''[[New York (magazine)|New York]]'' magazine,<ref>{{cite news|last=Chen|first=Adrian|title=Romanian Hacker Guccifer Skewered and Glorified The Power Elite|url=http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/guccifer-2014-2/|accessdate=23 February 2014|newspaper=New York Magazine|date=25 January 2014}}</ref> ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'',<ref>{{cite news|last=Chen|first=Adrian|title=Goatse and the Rise of the Web's Gross Out Culture|url=https://www.wired.com/magazine/2013/04/goatse/|accessdate=23 February 2014|newspaper=Wired Magazine|date=16 April 2013}}</ref> and other publications.

In October 2012, Chen exposed the real name and details of [[Violentacrez]] (a moderator of several [[Reddit]] [[jailbait]] communities), a Texas Internet developer, who was subsequently fired from his job.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2012/10/15/reddit_troll_violentacrez_outed_by_gawker_when_will_law_enforcement_catch.html|title=Gawker Outed Reddit's Most Notorious Troll. Why Isn't Law Enforcement Doing the Same?|last=Hess|first=Amanda|date=15 October 2012|publisher=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|accessdate=16 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=2012-10-12 |title=Unmasking Reddit&#39;s Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web |url=https://www.gawkerarchives.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web |access-date=2024-06-18 |website=Gawker |language=en}}</ref> This led to all links to Gawker being temporarily banned from Reddit.<ref name="Oremus" /> In September 2012, Chen acquiesced to demands from [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]] and posted images of himself dressed in a [[Ballet tutu|tutu]] with a shoe perched on his head. The images had been demanded in exchange for interviews regarding an alleged leak of [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] iPhone and iPad user data from an FBI laptop.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gawker.com/5940273 |title=Anonymous Demands to See Gawker Writer in Ballet Tutu For More Information on Massive FBI Hack |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=4 September 2012 |publisher=[[Gawker Media]] |accessdate=16 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008073720/http://gawker.com/5940273 |archivedate=8 October 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://slacktory.com/2012/09/adrian-chen-will-play-your-internet-game-you-rogue/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130202151231/http://slacktory.com/2012/09/adrian-chen-will-play-your-internet-game-you-rogue/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 February 2013 |title=Adrian Chen Will Play Your Internet Game, You Rogue |last=Douglas |first=Nick |date=5 September 2012 |publisher=Slacktory |accessdate=16 October 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/2012/09/04/hackers_release_apple_data/|title=Hackers release Apple data|last=Lennard|first=Natasha|date=4 September 2012|work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|accessdate=16 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57506130-93/gawker-writer-dons-pink-tutu-in-response-to-anonymous-demand/|title=Gawker writer dons pink tutu in response to Anonymous demand|last=Cooper|first=Charles|date=4 September 2012|publisher=[[CNet]]|accessdate=16 October 2012}}</ref>

In 2016, he became a staff writer for ''[[The New Yorker]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/contributors/adrian-chen|title=Adrian Chen|magazine=The New Yorker|accessdate=June 3, 2016}}</ref> He left the magazine in July 2018.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=AdrianChen|author=Adrian Chen|number=1013825675302789121|date=2 July 2018|title=This is also my last piece as a staff writer at the New Yorker. Sad to leave so many brilliant colleagues, but I'm very excited for my next project: I'm working on a book about gamers, based partly on this article, to be published at some point before End Times by Random House.}}</ref>

==Personal background==

Chen was born to Harry Chen and Anne Lezak.<ref name="gmob">{{Cite web|url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/rutlandherald/obituary.aspx?pid=166403445|title=Hsi Chen Obituary (2013) - Rutland, VT - Rutland Herald|website=[[Legacy.com]] }}</ref> His father Harry is ethnic [[Han Chinese|Chinese]]<ref>{{cite tweet|user=AdrianChen|author=Adrian Chen|number=864719087775166464|date=17 May 2017|title=@aanatuaa no, my dad's Chinese American.}}</ref> and religiously [[Christians|Christian]] and his mother Anne is [[American Jews|Jewish]].<ref>{{cite tweet|user=AdrianChen|author=Adrian Chen|number=669615434858131456|date=25 November 2015|title=@DavidADorsey i guess i'm agnostic too. my mom is jewish, my dad christian. didn't grow up religious at all.}}</ref> His maternal grandfather was [[Sidney I. Lezak]],<ref>{{cite tweet|user=AdrianChen|author=Adrian Chen|number=291902064861270016|date=17 January 2013|title=@mickeylindsay sidney Lezak}}</ref> former [[United States Attorney|U.S. Attorney]] for Oregon for more than 20 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/12/06/us/oregon-s-us-attorney-since-61-leaving-job.html|title=Oregon's U.s. Attorney Since '61 Leaving Job|first1=Wallace|last1=Turner|first2=Special to the New York|last2=Times|newspaper=The New York Times|date=6 December 1981|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|user=AdrianChen|author=Adrian Chen|number=291757734951522304|date=17 January 2013|title=My grandfather was Oregon's U.S. Attorney for 20 yrs + he was most proud of his exercise of discretion. He went easy on Vietnam resisters.}}</ref>

In June 2011, Chen wrote an exposé of [[Silk Road (marketplace)|Silk Road]], a [[darknet market]] which facilitated online drug purchases.<ref name="GawkerSilkRoad1">{{Cite news|url=http://gawker.com/5805928/the-underground-website-where-you-can-buy-any-drug-imaginable |title=The Underground Website Where You Can Buy Any Drug Imaginable |author=Adrian Chen |accessdate=15 June 2011 |date=1 June 2011 |work=[[Gawker]] |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613040631/http://gawker.com/5805928/the-underground-website-where-you-can-buy-any-drug-imaginable |archivedate=13 June 2011 }}</ref> Following publication of the article, Chen was interviewed about Silk Road on [[NPR]]'s ''[[All Things Considered]]''.<ref name=npr1>{{cite news|title=Silk Road: Not Your Father's Amazon.com|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/06/12/137138008/silk-road-not-your-fathers-amazon-com|accessdate=5 November 2011|newspaper=[[All Things Considered]]|date=12 June 2011|author=NPR Staff|format=Broadcast radio segment|agency=[[NPR]]|quote=The e-commerce website Silk Road is being called the Amazon.com of illegal drugs.}}</ref> As a result of Chen's investigation, United States Senators [[Charles Schumer]] and [[Joe Manchin]] publicly called on [[U.S. Attorney General]] [[Eric Holder]] to shut the site down.<ref name=openletter>{{cite web|title=Manchin Urges Federal Law Enforcement to Shut Down Online Black Market for Illegal Drugs|url=http://manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2011/6/manchin-urges-federal-law-enforcement-to-shut-down-online-black-market-for-illegal-drugs|work=Press Releases - Newsroom - Joe Manchin, United States Senator, West Virginia|accessdate=5 November 2011|author=Charles E. Schumer|author-link=Charles E. Schumer|author2=Joe Manchin|author2-link=Joe Manchin|format=Press release|date=6 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508070058/http://manchin.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2011/6/manchin-urges-federal-law-enforcement-to-shut-down-online-black-market-for-illegal-drugs|archive-date=2012-05-08|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="SecNarc">{{cite news |url=http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/123187958.html |title=Schumer Pushes to Shut Down Online Drug Marketplace|accessdate=15 June 2011 |date=5 June 2011 |agency=Associated Press|publisher=[[NBC New York]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/230084/u_s_senators_want_to_shut_down_bitcoins.html|title=U.S. Senators Want to Shut Down Bitcoins, Currency of Internet Drug Trade|last=Slattery|first=Brennon|date=10 June 2011|publisher=[[PC World]]|accessdate=28 November 2012}}</ref>

In February 2012, Chen interviewed a freelancer from [[oDesk]], an outsourcing firm hired to enforce [[Facebook]]'s content guidelines.<ref name="oDesk">{{cite web|url=http://gawker.com/5885714/inside-facebooks-outsourced-anti+porn-and-gore-brigade-where-camel-toes-are-more-offensive-than-crushed-heads |title=Inside Facebook's Outsourced Anti-Porn and Gore Brigade, Where 'Camel Toes' are More Offensive Than 'Crushed Heads' |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=16 February 2012 |publisher=[[Gawker Media]] |accessdate=16 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014120019/http://gawker.com/5885714/inside-facebooks-outsourced-anti%2Bporn-and-gore-brigade-where-camel-toes-are-more-offensive-than-crushed-heads |archivedate=14 October 2012 }}</ref> The article included the guidelines provided by oDesk.<ref name="oDesk" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://gawker.com/5885836/facebook-releases-new-content-guidelines-now-allows-bodily-fluids |title=Facebook Releases New Content Guidelines, Now Allows Bodily Fluids |last=Chen |first=Adrian |date=16 February 2012 |publisher=[[Gawker Media]] |accessdate=16 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010194210/http://gawker.com/5885836/facebook-releases-new-content-guidelines-now-allows-bodily-fluids |archivedate=10 October 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/22/how-facebook-flags-nude-images-without-exposing-your-identity/|title=How Facebook Outsources Its Nudity Patrol|last=Hill|first=Kashmir|date=22 February 2012|work=[[Forbes]]|accessdate=16 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/how-facebook-keeps-porn-gore-hate-out-your-news-feed-157748|title=How Facebook keeps the porn, gore and hate out of your News Feed|last=Popkin|first=Helen A. S.|date=17 February 2012 |publisher=[[MSNBC]]|accessdate=16 October 2012}}</ref>

{{See also|Controversial Reddit communities}}

In October 2012, Chen uncovered the background of Michael Brutsch, a moderator who oversaw several controversial Reddit forums such as r/creepshots and r/jailbait, under the username 'Violentacrez'. He arranged a phone interview with Brutsch during which Brutsch mentioned he had a disabled wife and pleaded for him to keep his identity secret. Though Chen claimed this "did shake [him] a bit",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web |title=Unmasking Reddit's Violentacrez, the Biggest Troll on the Web |accessdate=2014-06-12 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140530114606/http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web |archivedate=2014-05-30 }}</ref> he published an article revealing his name, location, and workplace on Gawker. The next day, Brutsch was fired from his job. This release of [[personally identifiable information]] prompted several subreddits to ban all Gawker link submissions from their site.<ref name=Oremus>{{cite news | first = Will | last = Oremus | title = Reddit Moderators Ban Gawker in Solidarity With Creepy Porn Purveyor | date = 11 Oct 2012 | url = http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/10/11/reddit_bans_gawker_links_over_adrian_chen_story_about_porn_purveyor_violentacres.html | work = Slate | accessdate = 2012-10-13}}</ref><ref name="Hill-2012">{{cite journal

|url = https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/10/15/why-the-internet-cool-kids-think-gawker-outing-reddits-violentacrez-is-the-best-story-about-the-web-this-year/ |title = Why The Internet Cool Kids Think Gawker Outing Reddit's Violentacrez Is The 'Best Story About The Web' This Year |author = Hill, Kashmir |date = 15 Oct 2012 |journal = [[Forbes]] |accessdate = 2012-10-16 }}</ref> When Chen's article was published it became banned site-wide, which Reddit general manager Erik Martin said was a mistake. "The sitewide ban of the recent Adrien Chen (sic) article was a mistake on our part and was fixed this morning. Mods are still free to do what they want in their subreddits".<ref>{{cite news | first = Katie | last = Notopolous | title = Leaked Reddit Chat Logs Reveal Moderators | date = 13 Oct 2012 | url = https://www.buzzfeed.com/katienotopoulos/leaked-chat-logs-between-reddit-moderators-and-sta | work = BuzzFeed | accessdate = 2012-10-13}}</ref> Chen claims that apart from Reddit, response to his story had been "overwhelmingly positive", telling ''[[The Guardian]]'', "I thought there would be more of a backlash about the story, but people really are willing to accept that anonymity is not a given on the internet and if people use pseudonyms to publish sexualised images of women without their consent, and of underage girls, then there's not really a legitimate claim to privacy".<ref>{{cite news | last = Swash | first = Rosie | work = The Guardian | title = A new internet age? Web users turn on 'trolls'| date= 19 Oct 2012 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/oct/19/new-internet-age-trolls | accessdate = 2012-10-19 | location=London}}</ref> For his article revealing Brutsch, Chen received a [[Mirror Award]] for Best Profile in the category of Traditional/Legacy or Digital Media.<ref>{{cite news|last=O'Shea|first=Chris|title=The 2013 Mirror Award Winners|url=http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlny/the-2013-mirror-award-winners_b83968|accessdate=14 June 2013|newspaper=[[Mediabistro.com|FishbowlNY]]|date=5 June 2013}}</ref>

The public outpouring of hostility towards Brutsch following the exposé prompted commentators such as [[danah boyd]] at ''[[Wired (website)|Wired]]'' and Michelle Star of ''[[CNET]]'' to question the morality of outing as a way to enforce societal standards online.<ref name=Wired>{{cite news|last=Boyd|first=Danah|title=Truth, Lies, and 'Doxxing': The Real Moral of the Gawker/Reddit Story|url=https://www.wired.com/opinion/2012/10/truth-lies-doxxing-internet-vigilanteism/|accessdate=1 November 2012|newspaper=[[Wired (website)|Wired]]|date=29 October 2012}}</ref><ref name=CNET>{{cite news|last=Starr|first=Michelle|title=Gawker, Reddit's Violentacrez and the internet vigilantes|url=http://www.cnet.com.au/gawker-reddits-violentacrez-and-the-internet-vigilantes-339342046.htm|accessdate=1 November 2012|newspaper=[[CNET]]|date=17 October 2012}}</ref> Several commentators have expressed concern that the [[public humiliation|public shaming]] of Brutsch may serve as an example to others, legitimizing online vigilantism and exposing individuals such as Brutsch to mass retribution.<ref name=Wired /><ref name=CNET /> Mez Breeze has suggested in The Next Web that, in outing Brutsch, Chen engaged in a type of trolling, making Brutsch "the victim of unwanted bullying and substantial negative attention" as a result of the exposé.<ref name=TNW>{{cite news|last=Breeze|first=Mez|title=The problems with anonymous trolls and accountability in the digital age|url=https://thenextweb.com/insider/2012/10/27/the-problems-with-anonymous-trolls-and-accountability-in-the-digital-age/|accessdate=1 November 2012|newspaper=The Next Web|date=27 October 2012}}</ref>

Reddit users accused Chen of [[doxing]] Brutsch and declared "war" on ''Gawker''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tiffany |first=Kaitlyn |date=2022-04-22 |title='Doxxing' Means Whatever You Want It To |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2022/04/doxxing-meaning-libs-of-tiktok/629643/ |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=[[The Atlantic]] |language=en}}</ref>

===PropOrNot===

[[PropOrNot]] is a group that seeks to expose what it calls [[Russia]]n [[propaganda]] and published a list of websites they called "bona-fide 'useful idiots{{'"}} of the Russian government based on methodology they called "a combination of manual and automated analysis, including analysis of content, timing, technical indicators, and other reporting".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Nelson|first1=Steven|title=Publications Called Russian-Propaganda Distributors Consider Suing Anonymous 'Experts'|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-11-29/publications-called-russian-propaganda-distributors-consider-suing-anonymous-experts|website=U.S. News & World Report|date=November 29, 2016}}</ref> Chen was critical of ''[[The Washington Post]]''{{'}}s decision to put the story on its front page. He wrote in an article titled "The Propaganda About Russian Propaganda": "The story topped the ''Post''{{'}}s most-read list, and was shared widely by prominent journalists and politicians on Twitter. ... But a close look at the report showed that it was a mess."<ref name="Chen-Prop-about-Prop"/> Looking more carefully into their methodology, Chen argued that PropOrNot's criteria for establishing propaganda were so broad that they could have included "not only Russian state-controlled media organizations, such as ''Russia Today'', but nearly every news outlet in the world, including the ''Post'' itself" on their list.<ref name="Chen-Prop-about-Prop">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-propaganda-about-russian-propaganda|title=The Propaganda About Russian Propaganda|last=Chen|first=Adrian|date=December 1, 2016|magazine=The New Yorker}}</ref>

== Bibliography ==

{{Expand list|date=May 2022}}

* {{cite web <!--|author=Chen, Adrian--> |title=Can an Algorithm Solve Twitter’s Credibility Problem? |department=Annals of Technology [web only] |website=The New Yorker |date=May 5, 2014 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/can-an-algorithm-solve-twitters-credibility-problem <!--|access-date=2022-08-13-->}}

* {{cite journal <!--|author=Chen, Adrian |author-mask=1--> |date=November 23, 2015 |title=Unfollow: How a Prized Daughter of the Westboro Baptist Church Came to Question Its Beliefs |department=Dept. of Technology |journal=The New Yorker |volume=91 |issue=37 |pages=80–86, 88–93 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/23/conversion-via-twitter-westboro-baptist-church-megan-phelps-roper <!--|access-date=2022-05-27-->}}<ref>Title in the online table of contents is "Conversion via Twitter".</ref>

* {{cite web <!--|author=Chen, Adrian |author-mask=1--> |title=The Propaganda About Russian Propaganda |department=News Desk [web only] |website=The New Yorker |date=December 1, 2016 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-propaganda-about-russian-propaganda <!--|access-date=2022-05-27-->}}

* {{cite journal <!--|author=Chen, Adrian |author-mask=1--> |date=January 30, 2017 |title=The Troll of Internet Art |department=Profiles |journal=The New Yorker |volume=92 |issue=47 |pages=30–35 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/30/brad-troemel-the-troll-of-internet-art <!--|access-date=2022-08-13-->}}<ref>Online version is titled "[[Brad Troemel]], the Troll of Internet Art".</ref>

==See also==

* [[Chinese Americans in New York City]]

* [[Dark web]]

* [[Investigative journalism]]

* [[New Yorkers in journalism]]

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{LivingstonAward International Reporting}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1984 births]]

[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]

[[Category:American journalists of Chinese descent]]

[[Category:American male bloggers]]

[[Category:American male journalists]]

[[Category:Livingston Award winners for International Reporting]]

[[Category:The New Yorker staff writers]]

[[Category:American online journalists]]

[[Category:Reed College alumni]]