Thousands of students, staff and alumni of UC Irvine were shown violent videos against their will last week, sending some of them to the hospital for treatment.
On Jan. 9, hackers breached Discord groups related to current students, instructors and alumni, posting gory videos of human and animal mutilation that reportedly sent some viewers to the hospital and caused a lot of ‘vomiting and tears,” the Orange County Register.
About 3,000 people were exposed to the disturbing visuals before moderators blocked the hackers’ access.
Alina Kim, who helped coordinate the hacking response by the student-run Discord groups, told the Register that “some things I’ve seen I definitely cannot unsee.”
“Some individuals were reportedly hospitalized with vomiting, panic attacks, traumatic responses,” she added. “This is something that has real psychological effects.”
While the hackers have been identified, their identity is not being released because it appears they want publicity, Kim told the Register.