Lawrence McGillvary first rose to internet fame in this video as “Kai, the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker…”
…in which he recounts saving an innocent woman from being attacked by a delusional man who believed he was Jesus.
Kai had been traveling with the disturbed attacker before he stepped in and beat the man with an axe to end the onslaught.
Despite his viral fame, Kai remained homeless and continued his journey, relying on the hospitality of strangers.
The adventure ended, however, after he murdered 73-year-old Joseph Galfy Jr., who he alleged drugged and assaulted him.
Draven Rodriguez was a 16-year-old who posted this now famous Instagram photo with his cat, Mr. Bigglesworth…
…adding an 80’s laser filter and hoping his high school would accept his “outlandish” pose as a yearbook portrait.
The photo quickly became a popular meme and an online petition convinced his school to withdraw its objections.
While Draven outwardly enjoyed his new found notoriety, he privately struggled with the stresses that it brought…
…and he was driven to commit suicide in his family’s home before his yearbook photo could be published.
Batman Bin Suparman became an instant celebrity after this photo of his Singaporean ID hit the internet…
…and bloggers confirmed that the Javanese name was indeed real and translated to “Batman son of Superman.”
Unfortunately, the man apparently chose to forsake the superhero inspiration for his name and turned to a life of crime.
Several years after becoming “internet famous” Batman Bin Suparman was unemployed and using heroin.
Caught for breaking and entering and for petty theft, the man was arrested and jailed in Singapore for nearly 3 years.
This short film, “Kony 2012,” was created by Jason Russell for the Invisible Children charity…
…which sought to raise awareness of the killing of children in East and Central Africa by the Lord’s Resistance Army.
10 days after the campaign went viral, Russell’s fame turned to infamy after he was filmed by TMZ in this “naked meltdown.”
Following his arrest, Russell claimed that the negative attention surrounding his film had induced a psychotic episode.
The charity and film drew intense criticism for its promotion of feel-good, but useless, like and share “slacktivism.”
Aaron Swartz co-founded Reddit at age 19 and became a millionaire after the site was sold…
…but he continued working as a free internet activist fighting against SOPA, a bill legalizing internet censorship.
The campaign sparked intense protests online and forced the US government to withdraw its authoritarian plan.
That same year, Swartz was arrested for “hacking” a JSTOR academic database, despite JSTOR declining to press charges.
Facing retaliatory prosecution with 35 years in prison and a $1M fine, Swartz hung himself in his apartment before the trail.