How Reddit Became the Epicenter for 'The Fappening'

Since August 31^st, the Internet has been losing its mind over the stolen pictures of celebrities — some of an adult nature — that have been posted all over the Web. How exactly did this happen, and what exactly has been going on for the last two weeks?

Deadspin claimed to have encountered the hacker behind “Celebgate” aka “The Fappening” a few weeks before it became common knowledge. The first time the pictures appeared in public was on 4chan and AnonIB, and the source was an alleged celebrity nude picture trading ring that had been in operation for months, if not years.

Once the pictures appeared, they made their way to Reddit, which became the epicenter.