Maddie Kowalski is one of countless college-aged girls who’ve had their lives destroyed by anonymous sports fan accounts. Now she’s fighting back against the burnerverse.
\n\nIf you or someone you know has been a victim of non-consensual image abuse, call the CCRI Image Abuse Helpline at 844-878-2274 for support in the United States.
\n\nI've spent months investigating the burnerverse,
\n\na loosely connected network of burner accounts on X
\n\nthat's destroying young women's lives.
\n\nDespite all the damage they've inflicted,
\n\nthese accounts have remained totally anonymous
\n\nuntil one woman decided to fight back.
\n\nMostly operated by college students and alumni.
\n\nIn theory, the burners are supposed
\n\nbut this faceless corner of the internet
\n\nhas another mission, targeting women who are young,
\n\nconventionally attractive, and studying at college.
\n\nSome of these women had non-consensual intimate images
\n\nabout their personal lives circulated.
\n\nUniversity of Florida student, Maddie Kowalski,
\n\nin her first interview with a mainstream news outlet,
\n\ntold me about the terrible impact being targeted
\n\nby the burnerverse had on her life.
\n\nIn November 2025, Kowalski heard that a nude image
\n\nof her was circulating on UF group chats
\n\nSoon enough, a burner account dropped video
\n\nContent showing her naked, incapacitated,
\n\nwas viewed…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/