The website 4chan, which is known for bad things, was attacked by hackers on Tuesday.

When I wrote this, the 4chan website didn't work. People on social media said the site stopped working sometimes for many hours.

People on another website were happy about the hack. One person said the hacker was inside 4chan's system for more than a year.

Some pictures that looked like they were from the secret part of the website 4chan were shared online. These pictures showed the website's code and how they stop users from using the site. Only the people who manage the website could see this. The shared information also included a list of the people who manage 4chan and users called 'janitors'. These janitors can remove messages, but they have less power than the managers. For example, the managers can see users' internet addresses.

Because 4chan is known for political violence, this attack could show who runs these forums. These forums are important for alt-right groups.

TechCrunch contacted some people whose email addresses were shared. They talked to one person. Someone who works for 4chan said they think the shared information and pictures are true.

I don't have a reason to think it's different,

I'm a little surprised. The people who manage 4chan have had information shared before, but this is a much bigger problem," the cleaner told TechCrunch. "I don't like this situation. I'm sure most other people don't either. But many of us have been doing this job for a long time. Finding and sharing people's private information is something people often do on 4chan, and we always knew we could be found out.

The janitor said, "I was very worried about the information that came out, for clear reasons." He also said, "I think it's probably worse that a hacker or hackers took control of 4chan than just seeing pictures, especially for the website to keep working."

The janitor also said that it seems the hacker got the personal information of people who pay for 4chan Pass. These people pay the website to post more and use a special VIP area.

4chan did not answer an email asking for a comment.

4chan is a website where people share pictures and talk without using their real names. It can be a strange and sometimes bad place on the internet. Often, bored people go there and try to shock others by posting very unpleasant pictures and ideas. Sometimes, things from 4chan become popular online jokes, or they can become hateful ideas that cause real problems.

Memes like Pepe the Frog started on a website called 4chan. Now, you can see these memes everywhere online. But 4chan is most known for its political discussions. Here, strong political ideas can make young people believe in white supremacist ideas. A group called QAnon, which supports Donald Trump and has strange ideas, also began on 4chan.

In 2019, a man killed 51 people in New Zealand. He often used a website called 4chan. Later, in 2022, a young man in New York killed 10 Black people. He used ideas from the man who killed people in New Zealand.