The Time Magazine competition included the likes of President Barack Obama, the Dali Lama, Vladaimir Putin, however it is Christopher Poole (aka Moot), founder of web forum 4chan, who has been named the most influential person in the world.
The vote for the most influential person in the world was made available to anyone and according to The Inquisitr, Moot received 16,794,368 votes for an average influence rating of 90 (out of a possible 100). Runner up, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, received 2,316,278 votes with an influence rating of 47/ 100.
The screenshot below does not reflect the final number of votes, but does accurately reflect the order when voting was finalized.
The <3 of EU tech
The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!
Over the last few years, 4chan has become one of the most talked-about sites when it comes to launching new memes. From LOLCats to RickRolling, 4Chan has been the birth of some of the worlds recent most popular cultural phenomenon’s.
Christopher Poole’s real identity was only revealed on July 9, 2008 after hiding behind username Moot for a number of years. He launched 4Chan on October 1, 2003, because he just wanted a place to share his fascination with Japanese comics and television shows. He was a fan of the popular Japanese image Web site 2chan and wanted to create a version for American audiences. With his mother’s approval, he used her credit card to purchase server space and started 4chan.org.
The site has one employee, a programmer whom moot met via on-line Tetris. All other moderators are volunteers.
Something about all this makes me feel Time Magazine are going be left unsatisfied with their winner. Especially since the entire voting process was hacked to pieces.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.