Good Smile, a well-known Japanese toy company, is said to have supported 4chan for many years

March 30, 2023 By Prelo Con

(Image Credit Google)

Image Source: Encyclopedia Britannica Good Smile, one of the world's most successful toy businesses, is said to have financially supported 4chan, one of the internet's worst cesspools. The site has now become a hub for online conspiracy theories, harassment campaigns, racism, sexism, and homophobia. According to collaboration agreement documents obtained by Wired on Wednesday, Japanese toy firm Good Smile has financially supported 4chan for over eight years. The retail company is well-known for its Nendoroid line and other scale figurines and action figures based on a variety of important IPs, mostly anime, but also Warner Bros. and Walt Disney products. According to the filings, Good Smile put up $2.4 million to keep the site running when it changed hands in 2015. Previous reports have linked Good Smile to 4chan. Wired revealed last year, using nondisclosure paperwork, that Good Smile was involved in the site's 2015 acquisition. Former Good Smile executives in the United States have accused the corporation of trafficking in "sexually explicit" figures of young girls, committing tax evasion, defrauding the United States, and being linked with 4chan in legal filings. According to The Hollywood Reporter, top executives from the subsidiary visited Good Smile's offices in the United States in 2019 and were informed by Enna Hozumi, VP of Good Smile US, that Good Smile Japan had "acquired" 4chan and that it was being "managed" at the company's Tokyo, Japan headquarters. According to a corporate representative, Good Smile made a "passive investment" in 4chan. [caption id="attachment_132833" align="aligncenter" width="1400"]

Image Source: Good Smile Company[/caption] Christopher Poole, often known online as "moot," sold 4chan to Hiroyuki Nishimura, the developer of the site 2channel, which inspired 4chan, in 2015. Nishimura has retained his position as site administrator. His hands-off attitude to maintaining the site is said to have led to 4chan becoming a haven for the far-right and other purveyors of false information on the internet. According to the records given by Wired, Nishimura then invested $800,000 of his personal money in the site, as well as $4.8 million from one of his firms, which was also backed by a different Japanese telecoms firm Dwango.

By Prelo Con

Following my passion by reviewing latest tech. Just love it.

Good Smile, a well-known Japanese toy company, is said to have supported 4chan for many years

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