UNC conservative student newspaper HACKED, has hundreds of articles erased
The website for the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s conservative student newspaper was hacked.
The university publicly condemned the hacks in an affirmation of the conservative students’ right to free speech.
An unknown individual hacked the website of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s conservative student newspaper.
As the Washington Free Beacon reported, the hacker erased hundreds of articles from the website of the Carolina Review on April 28, leaving only a note under the name of editor-in-chief Bryson Piscitelli that read: “nazi scum fuck off.”
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Hours earlier, someone had scrawled the word “racist” on a Carolina Review distribution box on campus.
Piscitelli said on Twitter that the publication “is stronger than it has been in 28 years of publication and will not be intimidated by these destructive, illegal attacks.”
Thank you to the @FreeBeacon for picking up on this story. Our publication is stronger than it has been in 28 years of publication and will not be intimidated by these destructive, illegal attacks. We’ll rebuild our site. Our boxes will distribute the newest magazine as planned. https://t.co/c2O8H5I02J
— Bryson Piscitelli (@realbpiscitelli) April 30, 2021
UNC-Chapel Hill publicly condemned the hack.
According to a statement posted to Twitter, the university “condemns vandalism and rhetoric that discourages students from speaking freely on campus.”
Earlier this week, the @CarolinaReview’s website was hacked, its content vandalized, and vile language was left as digital graffiti. #UNC condemns vandalism and rhetoric that discourages students from speaking freely on campus. 1/2
— UNC-Chapel Hill (@UNC) April 30, 2021
The university added that it “strives to foster an environment where everyone, regardless of identity, background or perspective, can enjoy their right to free expression,” especially for members of the student press.
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“Carolina’s campus and community strives to be a place where everyone feels a sense of belonging and that their voice can be heard,” stated UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz in another statement posted to Twitter. “This is especially true for our student press. We condemn this vandalism.”
Carolina’s campus and community strives to be a place where everyone feels a sense of belonging and that their voice can be heard. This is especially true for our student press. We condemn this vandalism. https://t.co/s9YGf7u6MC
— Kevin Guskiewicz (@KevinGuskiewicz) April 30, 2021
Piscitelli told Guskiewicz that his comment “means a lot to our staff, who are always fearful of reprisal for their work.”
Thank you chancellor. This means a lot to our staff, who are always fearful of reprisal for their work. We are proud to be part of one of the best student journalism environments in the nation in Chapel Hill. https://t.co/50wNru2NE6
— Bryson Piscitelli (@realbpiscitelli) April 30, 2021
“The site is functional again, but in a shell of what it used to be,” Piscitelli told Campus Reform. “We had to rush to get things back up in time for our magazine release, so almost all of the magazine archives still haven’t been replaced and we haven’t been able to find backups for the years of articles lost.”
Piscitelli said that hundreds of articles have been lost.
“The UNC police have assigned an investigator and have so far been helpful to us although we haven’t gotten any leads,” he added. “We’re not really anywhere closer to finding the perpetrator than the night of the attack.”
“This stuff, where people try to intimidate us into shutting down, make our staff feel unsafe on campus, is unfortunately expected,” noted Piscitelli. “Many of the people at UNC enforce a culture of rabid political silencing and a quasi-religious crusade against anything to the right of FDR.”
“They simply don’t believe we have the right to exist and in fact believe the university should ban us for the crime of ‘insensitivity’ or ‘hateful’ speech, though any normal person reading our material would be absolutely shocked to consider it as such,” he continued. “The hypersensitivity of the student body is a serious problem. Nevertheless, we won’t be silenced or intimidated and this is our most successful year in 28 years of publication.”
Campus Reform reached out to UNC-Chapel Hill for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @BenZeisloft
