Top 10 Troll Moments Ever To Happen On The Web

Some trolls live under bridges; others live on message boards. Welcome to WatchMojo.com and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 TrollMoments Ever to Happen on the Web. For this list, we’re taking a look at instances where people have purposely made offensive or antagonizing online postings in order to upset others or in an attempt to elicit an angry response.

Back in 2011, the people of Austin, Texas voted on a new name for the city’s Solid Waste Services Department. Many individuals submitted potential names, although some of them had no connection to waste management. Suggestions included “Department of Neat and Clean,” “Ministry of Filth,” and “Hufflepuff.”The winner, however, was the “Fred Durst Society of the Humanities and Arts.” Suggested by Kyle Hentges, the name received almost 30,000 votes. Believe it or not, the Limp Bizkit vocalist actually seemed enthusiastic about the online poll, tweeting "I want to thank all of you who are helping me in Austin. I hope we win.” Regardless, the city ultimately decided to call the department “Austin Resource Recovery.” How inspired…  

When Boston’s Kiss 108 FM set up a contest for one lucky fan to meet Taylor Swift in 2013, they probably expected young girls to be the target demographic. In an unexpected turn of events, the winner was a grown man named Charles Z. After an anonymous user saw that Charles had entered the contest, they started a petition on behalf of their quote unquote “creepy 39-year-old friend.” Voters decided to give Charles the chance to meet the country pop star and sniff her hair. Upon seeing that Charles had claimed the top spot, the radio station cancelled the contest, stating that its integrity had been “compromised.” Way to crush Chuckie's dreams. Ah well, we’re sure he’ll … shake it off.

#8: Operation Troll The NSA

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After Edward Snowden leaked classified documents, the National Security Agency was exposed for tapping into the systems of various US Internet companies using a surveillance program called PRISM. The Internet retaliated with Operation Troll the NSA, a website dedicated to jamming the intelligence organization’s spy scanners. Providing a keywords-of-terror-filled script, the online countdown encouraged people to call or email someone at 7:00 PM EDT (eastern daylight time) on June 12, 2013. Just imagine millions of Americans using words like “overthrow,” “oppressive,” and “bomb” all at the exact same time. While this act of rebellion probably didn’t change anything, it’s safe to say that the NSA got the message.   

#7: Justin Bieber to North Korea [aka ‘Project North Korea is Best Korea’]

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Justin Bieber attracts Internet trolls like flies to honey. In 2010, an online poll was launched to determine where Bieber would perform next on his My World Tour. All the non-Beliebers on 4chan seized this opportunity to send the young musical artist to North Korea. On Faxo’s poll page, North Korea came out ontop with over 650,000 votes. And this wouldn’t be the last time something like this happened: in 2012, a petition was started to send rapper Pitbull to Kodiak, Alaska using the hashtag #ExilePitbull. As for Bieber, he never went to North Korea since the contest reportedly wasn’t “legitimate.” Looks like America is stuck with the Biebs… unless he gets deported back to Canada.

Trolling isn’t restricted to anonymous users; sometimes celebrities get in on the fun too. Comedian Patton Oswalt became one of Twitter’s most notorious trolls when he sent out several ignorant tweets involving abortion, rape, NAMBLA, and various other controversial subjects. Naturally, many of his followers were infuriated. Upon further inspection, however, people realized that the joke was on them. Each offensive tweet was merely one half of a two-part statement. For example, when Oswalt wrote, “whites and ‘darks’ should be kept separate,” he was actually talking about laundry. Whether you found theprank funny, outrageous, or a bit of both, nobody can deny Oswalt is a master of his craft.  

#5: Dub the Dew

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Yet another online poll invaded by 4chan trolls, the Dub the Dew campaign was intended to help Mountain Dew select the name for a green-apple soft drink. As you might have guessed, the poll soon became littered with unsuitable name suggestions, such as “Gushing Granny,” “Fapple,” and  “Diabeetus.” The top choice, however, was “Hitler did nothing wrong.” On top of that, hackers also took over the website, incorporating a banner that read, “Mtn Dew salutes theIsraeli Mossad for demolishing 3 towers on 9/11!” Mountain Dew later admitted on Twitter that “Dub the Dew definitely lost to The Internet.” In all honesty though, wouldn't it have been pretty awesome if they had named it “Soylent Green”? Soylent Green: It's Refreshing!

Comedian Nathan Fielder likes to use Twitter as a platform to instigate hysterical pranks. On one occasion, he asked his followers to text their parents and hit them up for drugs. On the heels of that ingenious prank, Fielder set out to ruin even more relationships. This time, he instructed people to text their significant other a message saying, “I haven't been fully honest with you.” They would then wait an hour before responding. The prank left countless lovers confused, distressed, and devastated. Alas, sometimes you need to break a few hearts for the sake of comedy.  

#3: #CosbyMeme

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Memes say the darndest things, especially when the subject of them is facing rape accusations. After decades of building a family friendly reputation, Bill Cosby's image was shattered when multiple women accused him of sexual assault. Just when it looked like his PR nightmare couldn't possibly get any worse, fuel was added to the flames. Cosby's social media team dared people to meme him. This, of course, ended up being a huge miscalculation, as Cosby’s website was quickly flooded with a tidal wave of memes – none of which portrayed him in an especially positive light. The meme generator was later removed, but the Internet wasn't done taking shots at the once beloved comedian, and it may never be.

#2: Over 9000 Penises

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Originating from “Dragon Ball Z,” “It’s Over 9000” has become one of the most widespread memes on the web. In 2008, an anonymous user got Oprah Winfrey – that’s right, Oprah Winfrey – to reference this popular meme on her talk show. Winfrey had no idea she was being trolled, however. Claiming to be a member of a fictional pedophile network, the user left a post on the Oprah.com message boards, stating, “our group has over 9000 penises and they are all raping children.” When Oprah read this message on television, anime fans everywhere dropped their jaws. While pedophilia is no laughing matter, this moment did result in more hilarious memes. Just remember, Oprah does not forgive, and Oprah does not forget. Before we get to our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - The World’s Most Exclusive Website - iOS 8 Wave Charge [aka ‘#AppleWave’] - Norm Macdonald Trolls Lena Dunham (and Judd Apatow) - RRS Boaty McBoatface - Mister Splashy Pants

4chan is responsible for some of the most epic troll moments ever, but nothing can quite top the time they took over a Time magazine poll. In 2009, themagazine set up their annual poll – the Time 100 - for the world’s most influential people. Coming out on top of the list with 16 million votes was moot, aka Christopher Poole, the founder of 4chan. There’s little doubt that Poole’s legion of followers had something to do with these results. Said followers also managed to ensure the first letter of the poll’s top 21 nominees spelled out “Marblecake, also the game", which is the name of a 4chan communication channel.   Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite toll moment to ever happen on the web? For more entertaining Top 10s published everyday, be sure tosubscribe to WatchMojo.com.