The Ethics of "Project Harpoon"

[The Almighty Aardvark]

snip

I don't see any photoshopped version in your post. I would be curious about it, but I seriously can't find it. Feeling dumb now. D:

Here's the photoshopped version:

Spoiler

Meghan Trainor's was a lot worse though. Looks like they think she should have plastic surgery too

Spoiler

 

[Areloch]

Ok, I keep seeing the images used in this described as "private".

So could someone clarify for me: were the images put on private pages, and someone took them and used them? Or were they posted up on a public page, and taken and used?

Because those are not the same situation.

(Also, please stop using potentially humiliating photoshops and stalking and harassment as equals. They're not)

 

[Kathinka]

snip

Ah, is ee. Thanks.

I wouldn't describe this as impossible though. I've seen people lose a silly amount of weight, and the results were absolute changes in looks. I think you underestimate how much of a person is really chub and how little is bones.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

Ah, is ee. Thanks.

I wouldn't describe this as impossible though. I've seen people lose a silly amount of weight, and the results were absolute changes in looks. I think you underestimate how much of a person is really chub and how little is bones.

For a lot of people I'd agree, but her weight isn't flabby. Hell, she has less of a gut than I do, and I'd be hard pressed to find anyone who'd say I'm overweight. If she was a guy, most people wouldn't even suggest she was out of the ordinary, they'd just call her stocky. I'd be very surprised if she could get her hips that narrow, because she looks like she has pretty wide hips.

In either case, she's happy with her weight, it's not adverse to her health, and her weight is nobody's business but her own.

 

[Dizchu]

Don't feed the fuckin' trolls. Get it through your thick skulls already. Oh what am I kidding, no one's gonna listen to me anyway.

I find this to be a very unrealistic expectation. Do you honestly think that my friend, upon discovering that a photo her friend took of her was not only published on a public page with thousands of followers for all to see, but digitally manipulated with a side-by-side comparison to suggest that she "didn't look good enough", should have just said to herself "well, trolls will be trolls"?

Project Harpoon have presented an ultimatum. "If you are overweight, don't take pictures of yourself or we will mock you". That goes beyond trolling into delusional sadism. This is not the same 4chan that did Project Chanology, it's not the same 4chan that went after the Steubenville rapists when the justice system failed. It's not even the same 4chan that funded The Fine Young Capitalists. This is a group of pathetic cowards who wouldn't dare express these things in public, hiding behind their keyboards, cracked versions of Photoshop and avatars featuring the trashy moeblob of the week. Scratching their neckbeards with cheese-stained fingers wondering why girls won't talk to them.

 

[someguy1231]

1. If you intentionally post a photo of yourself online, on a public site, for all to see, you have no right to complain of "invasion of privacy" if people start using that photo for things you don't like. Period.

2. If it's acceptable to photoshop thin people into fat people, then it's also acceptable to photoshop fat people into thin people. To claim otherwise for any reason is supporting a blatant double standard. Period.

3. Photoshopping someone's picture in a way they don't like is not "harassment" (provided it's publicly available). Period.

 

[Ryotknife]

You have no expectations of privacy in a public environment. You also shouldn't be crying 'harassment' if you had to search out people being mean about you. If these guys were sending their shoops to the people involved, I think that would cross lines. If it's just about people that are upset someone dare mock them, then get over yourselves.

This, I can agree with. It's like the difference between telling somebody she's an ugly cow and telling your friend, in private, that this fat girl you saw was ugly.

On a sidenote, I've always wondered what people expect fat models to do. Clothing companies need models to show off their clothing, right? And A model has to show confidence in her looks, right?

I thought models had to look pissed, like they want the world to bathe in hellfire.

At least thats the impression I always get when watching fashion models walk down the catwalk, but that might be for the more artsy fartsy type of fashion models.

On topic: there are some things that bother me about the fat acceptance movement (ps im overweight too). People shouldnt be shamed or harassed for being fat, sure, but being fat is not something that should be celebrated either. The original "video game characters being photoshopped into looking fatter" also irked me in a technical/context way. Lets take Helena. Sure she look attractive from my point of view, but now she has a wrestler type body when she is a dancer, and there is already a female wrestler with that body type. Tifa, at least in the movies, looks asian and has a more normal looking body. The photoshopping was originally meant to raise awareness for Bulimia, which fair enough. Except many of the females had a healthy body pre shopped. A few had unrealistic bodies, but in a stylisic fashion. Kinda like how every male in Starcraft 2 is ripped as fuck, that is just the style.

 

[Dizchu]

So could someone clarify for me: were the images put on private pages, and someone took them and used them? Or were they posted up on a public page, and taken and used?

While their focus was on photoshopping professional plus-sized models, they also stalked people's Tumblr and Facebook accounts for images to manipulate.

Out of curiosity, would it be okay to digitally manipulate and redistribute someone's artwork without their permission? People seem to be more than willing to throw the rights of photographers out the window but does it apply to drawn art too?

If so, what's the point of public domain photos? Why search for stock photos when you can use pretty much anything anyone has taken a picture of? Why not use images found on Google and claim them as your own? I don't get why personal photos suddenly become fair game?

1. If you intentionally post a photo of yourself online, on a public site, for all to see, you have no right to complain of "invasion of privacy" if people start using that photo for things you don't like. Period.

2. If it's acceptable to photoshop thin people into fat people, then it's also acceptable to photoshop fat people into thin people. To claim otherwise for any reason is supporting a blatant double standard. Period.

3. Photoshopping someone's picture in a way they don't like is not "harassment" (provided it's publicly available). Period.

1. So what you're saying is that people should stop using the internet for social networking?

2. It's not acceptable either way, but at least the original set of images used fictional characters.

3. Why not? Can I take photos of people I find in the street, post them around for all to see? Is that okay? Why do release forms exist? When you redistribute private photos with the intention of mockery, inviting the scrutiny of thousands of viewers, how is that not harassment?

 

[VanQ]

I find this to be a very unrealistic expectation. Do you honestly think that my friend, upon discovering that a photo her friend took of her was not only published on a public page with thousands of followers for all to see, but digitally manipulated with a side-by-side comparison to suggest that she "didn't look good enough", should have just said to herself "well, trolls will be trolls"?

Project Harpoon have presented an ultimatum. "If you are overweight, don't take pictures of yourself or we will mock you". That goes beyond trolling into delusional sadism. This is not the same 4chan that did Project Chanology, it's not the same 4chan that went after the Steubenville rapists when the justice system failed. It's not even the same 4chan that funded The Fine Young Capitalists. This is a group of pathetic cowards who wouldn't dare express these things in public, hiding behind their keyboards, cracked versions of Photoshop and avatars featuring the trashy moeblob of the week. Scratching their neckbeards with cheese-stained fingers wondering why girls won't talk to them.

Regardless of who or what they are, their intention is to offend. And you're the one giving them the pleasure of knowing you're offended. Photos you publish on facebook are made public as soon as they're up there, and you agree to that by signing up to facebook in the first place. If you don't want your photos to be available to the public, maybe you should set your profile to private or stop uploading them to a public place. And before you try to use the argument that it's a place to store your photos, there are plenty of private alternatives.

I don't know what anime has to do with this, but it's nice to know you're mad enough to start placing the blame on people that have anime avatars. That's real great of ya. I'm sure that there's at least one Project Harpoon person enjoying your anger thoroughly.

Out of curiosity, would it be okay to digitally manipulate and redistribute someone's artwork without their permission? People seem to be more than willing to throw the rights of photographers out the window but does it apply to drawn art too?

Why would there be anything wrong with this? I do it all the time. I've photoshopped Critical Miss comics before. I've also photoshopped fan art of characters I saved where the original artist missed a detail or got something wrong. For example, one of my favourite characters had a gorgeous piece of art of them drawn, her eyes are normally green but the artist who is blue/green colorblind drew her with blue eyes. I changed them to green because it bothered me. Of course I never take credit for their work or profit off them.

The one line that I think it becomes wrong is when a professional artist has their name stained because of it. There is a famous political comic artist who had his work shopped by /pol/ to say some pretty shitty things. He's now infamous for being a racist even though he's not.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

So could someone clarify for me: were the images put on private pages, and someone took them and used them? Or were they posted up on a public page, and taken and used?

While their focus was on photoshopping professional plus-sized models, they also stalked people's Tumblr and Facebook accounts for images to manipulate.

Out of curiosity, would it be okay to digitally manipulate and redistribute someone's artwork without their permission? People seem to be more than willing to throw the rights of photographers out the window but does it apply to drawn art too?

If so, what's the point of public domain photos? Why search for stock photos when you can use pretty much anything anyone has taken a picture of? Why not use images found on Google and claim them as your own? I don't get why personal photos suddenly become fair game?

Are the photos behind a paywall or are the shoopers selling the photos? If the pictures are getting sold, then it's not covered by fair use. If the pictures came from behind a paywall, then the originals could be taken down, though the shops by themselves wouldn't be if it could be argued that they are different enough.

 

[BreakfastMan]

I don't know what anime has to do with this, but it's nice to know you're mad enough to start placing the blame on people that have anime avatars. That's real great of ya. I'm sure that there's at least one Project Harpoon person enjoying your anger thoroughly.

So fucking what? They are pieces of shit, the lot of them. Let's care about the people hurt, perhaps? I mean, is empathy too hard to ask? Let those sociopathic idiots get their chuckles and know they are hated by the rest of the internet community.

 

[vledleR]

Don't feed the fuckin' trolls. Get it through your thick skulls already. Oh what am I kidding, no one's gonna listen to me anyway.

I find this to be a very unrealistic expectation. Do you honestly think that my friend, upon discovering that a photo her friend took of her was not only published on a public page with thousands of followers for all to see, but digitally manipulated with a side-by-side comparison to suggest that she "didn't look good enough", should have just said to herself "well, trolls will be trolls"?

Project Harpoon have presented an ultimatum. "If you are overweight, don't take pictures of yourself or we will mock you". That goes beyond trolling into delusional sadism. This is not the same 4chan that did Project Chanology, it's not the same 4chan that went after the Steubenville rapists when the justice system failed. It's not even the same 4chan that funded The Fine Young Capitalists. This is a group of pathetic cowards who wouldn't dare express these things in public, hiding behind their keyboards, cracked versions of Photoshop and avatars featuring the trashy moeblob of the week. Scratching their neckbeards with cheese-stained fingers wondering why girls won't talk to them.

It's also incredibly unrealistic to expect a modicum of decency out of the people behind Project Harpoon, and I think that is a good example as to why outrage culture is spinning out of control atm. You have one side of people without a shred of dignity who will get a laugh out of the most abhorrent things, and another side who thinks it is a genuinely good idea to try and engage and shame people who have no shame.

If there is a single person who saw this thread and decided to join the shitshow of Project Harpoon, then you have done your friend and any other victims of Project Harpoon a disservice, no matter how many people comment on how reprehensible it is.

 

[Tsaba]

to be put it in simpler terms, would you pose naked in your window? Not any window mind you, but, the second floor window on the side of your house. Is it private? Sure.... Can someone see you doing this and take pictures? Why yes they can.

On the note of project harpoon, since when has 4Chan been sincere in most if not all the things they do. They're being trolls, its what they do best.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

*snip*

*snip*

Where is this absurd notion coming from that the only pictures of you on the internet are the ones you've posted personally?

Are you both claiming that someone would have it coming for having friends that posted a picture of them on Facebook? There are going to be pictures of you on the internet, that's almost guaranteed. Either you can spend your life in seclusion to avoid it, or you can hope that other people have the decency not to parade around your photos like a whale.

It's probably just me, but I feel like the person mocking them is the one with the problem, not the person who doesn't seek out and destroy all evidence of themselves on the internet

 

[Olas]

Look, I'm all for fat acceptance, I'm even pretty agnostic about the HAAS movement, but seriously, who gives a shit? Is it even offensive to Photoshop an image of someone to make them look thinner? What exactly is the issue here?

I find the name of the "project" somewhat humorous. That's about it.

 

[someguy1231]

1. So what you're saying is that people should stop using the internet for social networking?

2. It's not acceptable either way, but at least the original set of images used fictional characters.

3. Why not? Can I take photos of people I find in the street, post them around for all to see? Is that okay? Why do release forms exist? When you redistribute private photos with the intention of mockery, inviting the scrutiny of thousands of viewers, how is that not harassment?

1. Putting words in my mouth much? The nature of the internet means that, once you place a photo of yourself there where anyone can see it, whatever happens to it after that is completely beyond your control. Simple as that. Besides, you can partake in social networking without ever uploading any photos.

2. It has been done with real-life people before. Type "celebrities photoshopped to be fat" into Google. And it's irrelevant to me anyway whether it's being done on real or fictional people.

3. Such is an inevitable consequence of living in an age of ubiquitous cameras and the internet. And again, photos cease to be "private" if you intentionally post them on a publicly accessible part of the internet. As for "harassment", plenty of people get shamed or criticized if they're perceived to deserve it, and in those cases the ones doing it would never claim it's "harassment". We see this all the time on both sides of every debate: "It's not harassment when WE do it!"

 

[VanQ]

Where is this absurd notion coming from that the only pictures of you on the internet are the ones you've posted personally?

Are you both claiming that someone would have it coming for having friends that posted a picture of them on Facebook? There are going to be pictures of you on the internet, that's almost guaranteed. Either you can spend your life in seclusion to avoid it, or you can hope that other people have the decency not to parade around your photos like a whale.

It's probably just me, but I feel like the person mocking them is the one with the problem, not the person who doesn't seek out and destroy all evidence of themselves on the internet

We're all putting way too much thought into this in the first place. A bunch of people on the internet set out to offend the oversensitive, hyper-reactionary part of the internet. They achieved their goal and then some. Remember how I said to stop feeding the trolls like three times in this thread already? Remember when I said no one would listen?

I was right.

 

[Dizchu]

I don't know what anime has to do with this, but it's nice to know you're mad enough to start placing the blame on people that have anime avatars. That's real great of ya. I'm sure that there's at least one Project Harpoon person enjoying your anger thoroughly.

The point here is that they're scrutinising people for their appearances while deliberately hiding behind a veil of anonymity. There's nothing wrong with having an anime avatar, as I have one myself. But when people brag about how thick their skin is in comparison to those upset with having their personal photos redistributed while hiding behind images of pretty anime girls, that just screams arrogance and insecurity.

And I hope they do get some enjoyment from this. Self-loathing is a pretty destructive thing, maybe they need a brief respite from that.

1. Putting words in my mouth much? The nature of the internet means that, once you place a photo of yourself there where anyone can see it, whatever happens to it after that is completely beyond your control. Simple as that. Besides, you can partake in social networking without ever uploading any photos.

2. It has been done with real-life people before. Type "celebrities photoshopped to be fat" into Google. And it's irrelevant to me anyway whether it's being done on real or fictional people.

3. Such is an inevitable consequence of living in an age of ubiquitous cameras and the internet. And again, photos cease to be "private" if you intentionally post them on a publicly accessible part of the internet. As for "harassment", plenty of people get shamed or criticized if they're perceived to deserve it, and in those cases the ones doing it would never claim it's "harassment". We see this all the time on both sides of every debate: "It's not harassment when WE do it!"

1. You're literally saying that people should put a handicap on their online experiences because of the slim chance that some asshole will do something like this to them. I'm pretty sure people can do without that sort of paranoia. The people who had the audacity to post photos of themselves are not in the wrong here and I am astounded by how people are turning this whole thing around on them.

2. Yeah but the inspiration for this movement involved video game characters. Maybe they should've used a better example.

3. Please tell me that you can see the difference between feminist crybabies complaining about a shirt a guy chose to wear which they can choose not to look at, and people having their photos taken without permission and subsequently directly ridiculed to fuel an internet trolling campaign.

 

[The Almighty Aardvark]

We're all putting way too much thought into this in the first place. A bunch of people on the internet set out to offend the oversensitive, hyper-reactionary part of the internet. They achieved their goal and then some. Remember how I said to stop feeding the trolls like three times in this thread already? Remember when I said no one would listen?

I was right.

Weird, and I said a while back that the fact that people were targeted and humiliated by this meant that whether or not people get upset damage has been done.

I don't get this notion of using "trolling" as a shield. Say that you're trolling and you should be absolutely free from whatever criticism. You can do whatever you want, and be as much as a jackass and people will shield you for it

 

[VanQ]

Weird, and I said a while back that the fact that people were targeted and humiliated by this meant that whether or not people get upset damage has been done.

I don't get this notion of using "trolling" as a shield. Say that you're trolling and you should be absolutely free from whatever criticism. You can do whatever you want, and be as much as a jackass and people will shield you for it

No, they shouldn't be free. Block, report them and move on. Don't post news articles and make threads everywhere giving them the attention and glory they desire. Jesus christ, this isn't hard.