The Most Hated Man on the Internet is a true-crime limited series produced by Raw TV. The series has 3 episodes, with a runtime of around 60 minutes.
Netflix describes the series as:
Determined to remove her daughter’s photos from a revenge porn website, a persistent mother launches an online crusade to shut down its cruel founder.
– The Most Hated Man on the Internet Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
The Most Hated Man on the Internet is Netflix’s newest submission to its obsession with true-crime documentaries that features the infamous Is Anyone Up? website and its equally infamous owner Hunter Moore. The website mostly consisted of sexually explicit pictures and videos of women in order to humiliate them.
Hunter Moore isn’t someone who didn’t know what was going on on his website – he relished the image that was created for him thanks to his loyal followers who found some sort of happiness in vilifying innocent women whose only fault was to exist.
The Limited Series, with three hour-long episodes, The Most Hated Man on the Internet does not take the PG route out of showcasing exactly what went down on the pornographic website, filled with vile, hate-mongering people with nothing better to do with their lives. Apart from nudes, Moore also added everyone’s social media links with the pictures making it easy for the abuse to spill into Facebook and other social sites.
The series is a look into the horrific nature of the internet and how easy it is for people to just ruin their life with just a click. The internet is forever and regardless of whether or not you understand what you are doing on it, you leave a mark wherever you go.
The series takes a sympathetic look into the victims’ lives, especially Kayla Laws and her mother, Charlotte Laws, who goes on a tirade to bring justice for her daughter and many victims like her. The result of it is known to almost all since the case was highly publicised a decade ago. So, what does the series add to the already-known results?
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The Most Hated Man on the Internet adds a voice to the victims and shows us the struggle and heartbreak of someone who is exposed to the world without consent. The series knows how to say what and where and thus, it almost feels like it is giving power back to those from whom it was taken away illegally and forcefully.
On the other hand, the docuseries hardly focuses on the antagonist of this story – Hunter Moore. I don’t know whether this was a clever way of not giving him the screen time to excuse his behaviour, but regardless, personally, I feel like we don’t spend any time pondering over why someone would do something like this. Plus, it hardly talks about the website much either.
The Most Hated Man on the Internet will make you seethe with anger with its central storyline – that’s the point of it. You are angry on behalf of Kayla and the others. However, does the anger translate to interest as you watch an almost 3-hour-long documentary? And most importantly, does the series stay with you afterwards?
Well – yes and no. The series doesn’t seem to be anything different from those that we have previously seen. Sure, the case stays with you like a cautionary tale, and you think twice before uploading anything on the internet, but the documentary itself feels quite stale and forgettable.
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In spite of the shock factor and the general disgust that you feel for the events unfolding before you, the docuseries doesn’t create a similar air of intrigue as Tinder Swindler or Don’t F**k With Cats (both from the producers of this show who created a host of other great documentaries). And that, probably, is before we completely ignore Hunter Moore.
Either way, apart from that, The Most Hated Man on the Internet is still quite good in its own right, especially because you feel so much for Kayla and a mother’s war to protect her daughter. The documentary gets these emotions right and is the only reason you watch the whole show with anger and intrigue.
Apart from the interviews, the show adds internet actions and archival photos and videos to create the entire scene. These actions on the internet like someone searching up isanyoneup.com or sending explicit messages on Facebook add an extra layer of fear and shock to the audience – like it’s something that can happen to you as well, basically giving it the reality boost that it needs. It’s not new or unique, but it is a good addition.
Lastly, we see Hunter Moore through archival footage, something that had to be done because he refused to take part in the documentary after previously agreeing to it. It’s funny how Netflix tried to give him a taste of his own medicine – using his videos after he explicitly didn’t want to be involved. For those who enjoy getting petty, this serves as the perfect petty revenge.
Summing Up: The Most Hated Man on the Internet
The Most Hated Man on the Internet brings to light a heinous crime perpetrated by someone with little to no empathy. The show is thoughtful and gets the emotional notes right but misses out on creating a gripping atmosphere that have been present in Netflix’s recent documentary releases.
The Most Hated Man on the Internet is streaming on Netflix.