A site that caters solely to those deemed physically beautiful was supposedly hacked, opening the floodgates to thousands of ugly people. Now they are being removed. But was it a publicity stunt?
BeautifulPeople.com just announced that it has booted 30,000 ‘ugly’ people from its dating ranks. The site, which distinguishes itself by excluding everyone who isn’t deemed physically attractive enough by its membership, claims that it was attacked by a “Shrek” virus that allowed a horde of uglies to join its prestigious ranks without going through the normal voting process.
Arguing that it can’t just “sweep 30,000 people under the carpet,” Beautiful People managing director Greg Hodge told The Guardian that the removals had to happen. “We have sincere regret for the unfortunate people who were wrongly admitted to the site and who believed, albeit for a short while, that they were beautiful,” Hodge said in a press release. “It must be a bitter pill to swallow, but better to have had a slice of heaven then never to have tasted it at all.”
But was there actually a virus at all? Graham Cluley of Sophos Security believes it was a big publicity stunt: “The website explains that it hasn’t needed to inform any computer security firms about the malware as it is being “investigated internally”, and a “former employee.. placed the virus before leaving the team” and “despite wreaking havoc with the application process, member privacy and security was never breached.” Phew! So, lots of publicity for the website but nothing for current or future members to worry about then. How convenient!”
Could it be a hoax? Sure. After all, it isn’t called HonestPeople.com. And if it was a hoax, we really think Hodge might want to rewatch Shrek. He may have missed the real message of that movie.
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