Users were exposed to a data leak by an app that aimed to out and dox critics of Charlie Kirk as his loyalists sought out lefties for political persecution. The app, “Cancel the Hate,” has since been removed from download.
Straight Arrow News reported the findings on Tuesday, explaining that the app launched after the slaying of Kirk on Sept 10 with the aim to “hold individuals accountable for their public words,” said its website.
Users are required to submit their own personal data, promising that they will not have their details made public. Then it exposed personal details anyway.
"The flaw in the app, discovered by the security researcher who identifies himself as 'BobDaHacker,' enabled the exposure of user information such as email addresses and phone numbers," the SAN report said. "Although email addresses were included in profile bios by default, seemingly unbeknownst to many of the platform’s users, the data could still be exposed even if privacy settings were enabled to keep it hidden."
After reporters reached out to the app, it disappeared from the internet.
The purpose of the app was to invite users to “express concern” and submit “intel” to the app on alleged offenders. It asked for the name, location and employers.
It has coordinated anti-free speech activists to such an extent that the American Association of University Professors has cited at least 60 professors and teachers who have faced retaliation due to comments about Kirk.
The app also stated that it had a specific interest in targeting medical professionals, “whose conduct could endanger patients,” according to the website, as reported by SAN. They also sought out "public officials, business owners, entertainers, influencers, teachers and education administrators."
"Faculty First Responders, an organization that works with the association to advise educators who are the victims of doxxing and harassment campaigns, has reached out to 35 academic workers in the past week, most of them professors, whose comments about Mr. Kirk have been spread in right-wing media, according to Heather Steffen, the group’s director," the New York Times reported on Monday.
The app website promised, “We do not seek revenge or mob justice." It claims the goal is actually "transparency."
"They should NOT be harassed, threatened, or harmed in any way," a disclaimer said about the "cancel" app.
Comedian Rosanne Barr, vaccine denier Dr. Robert Malone, right-wing reporter Lara Logan and activist Jason Sheppard are behind the app.
