The LiveLeak portal, known for hosting disturbing and unpleasant material, has come to an end. After 15 years of operation, it is no longer available and redirects your visits to a site called Itemfix , which does prohibit the uploading of videos that contain “excessive violence or bloody content”.
In a post on his blog, LiveLeak founder Hayden Hewitt provides details about the site's closure, but assures that “ the world has changed a lot in recent years “. Previously, on his YouTube channel, he had stated that keeping the site active was an exhausting struggle.
“The last fifteen years have been a crazy rollercoaster for everyone involved. Highs, lows, and some pretty disturbing moments where it seemed like we were backwards. The point is, it's never been less than exhilarating, challenging, and something to do with it. that we were all fully committed. However, nothing lasts forever and, just like a few years ago, we thought LiveLeak had accomplished all it could and that it was time to try something new and exciting. “
Founder of LiveLeak, Hayden Hewitt As Hewitt mentions in his post, the end of LiveLeak has resulted in ItemFix. It is about u n portal that is committed to “creativity and fun” . The portal has an extensive decalogue in which prohibited content is mentioned to “help protect the safety and well-being of our members, staff and site”.
Users will have the ability to “report” prohibited content for review by moderators. The site, as they explain, allows the publication of different media such as images, videos and audio. Once uploaded to the server they can be edited.
LiveLeak, the home of disgusting content for 15 years
Photo by Marc Mintel on Unsplash LiveLeak was founded in 2006 under the slogan “Redefining the media.” A year after its release, it rose to fame for containing a 27-second video showing Saddam Hussein after his execution . Some time later, he attracted attention again for the video of the beheading of journalist James Foley by the terrorist group ISIS .
While LiveLeak promised to host no more videos of ISIS-created beheadings and the 2019 Christchurch shootings, the site remained a breeding ground for any other kind of unsavory content . Although the site was far from other services, it garnered a large number of visits.
According to an article in The New York Times, LiveLeak received between 6 and 20 million unique visits per month in 2019. Some viral events triggered consultations to the site, which ranked 695 among the most popular in the world.
