Today is my last day at BuzzFeed News and it’s a sad day
in part b/c I came so so so close but never caught my white whale. This man.
Who is "The Worst Person You Know"?
Let me show you how close I got:
in part b/c I came so so so close but never caught my white whale. This man.
Who is "The Worst Person You Know"?
Let me show you how close I got:
For those of you not already acquainted, this is a photo from the iconic article "Heartbreaking: The Worst Person You Know Just Made A Great Point" from the satirical website ClickHole. https://twitter.com/ClickHole/status/960568745298223104">https://twitter.com/ClickHole...
The article captured a specific bitter, begrudging feeling so well that the photograph has become internet shorthand for that emotion.
Given how many people have seen this man& #39;s face, I wanted to know: who is this man? Does he know how famous he is? Is he actually the worst person?
After googling to see if anyone else had found him & checking Know Your Meme, I started looking into it. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/worst-person-you-know-made-a-great-point">https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wor...
After googling to see if anyone else had found him & checking Know Your Meme, I started looking into it. https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/worst-person-you-know-made-a-great-point">https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/wor...
ClickHole doesn& #39;t credit a source on their website (and they never responded to my email asking for it) so I downloaded the image and looked at the EXIF data. Nothing.
A reverse image search brought up a million results, predictably. All the ways the image has been used over the years makes it hard to find a source.
So to eliminate that, I searched for the image and limited results to the dates before article was published. (Feb 2018).
So to eliminate that, I searched for the image and limited results to the dates before article was published. (Feb 2018).
Turns out the Onion has used it before in 2016. So I excluded results after then.
I couldn& #39;t find anything helpful.
In my spare time, I would occasionally just go through pages of results for different search terms, looking for any hints. Zilch!
I couldn& #39;t find anything helpful.
In my spare time, I would occasionally just go through pages of results for different search terms, looking for any hints. Zilch!
Then, in February, a breakthrough thanks to some help from other curious people:
By chance, I stumbled across a tweet where @rachelmillman asked if anyone knew who he was.
Buried in her replies, @iamtherog gave some details i hadn& #39;t seen.
By chance, I stumbled across a tweet where @rachelmillman asked if anyone knew who he was.
Buried in her replies, @iamtherog gave some details i hadn& #39;t seen.
The image was no longer on Getty& #39;s website and I couldn& #39;t find an archived version of the Getty page which would give me some more details.
But I was able through a combination of the search terms look for other websites that used the image.
But I was able through a combination of the search terms look for other websites that used the image.
That& #39;s how I found this 2014 page "Know the Risk of Vasectomy" from Indian health website Onlymyhealth, amid many other results.
Halfway down the page, I found him squeezed between other stock photos.
Halfway down the page, I found him squeezed between other stock photos.
Like dozens of times before, I downloaded the image and looked at the image data.
I couldn& #39;t believe my eyes. There was a date: 19 April 2014.
And even more incredibly, in the creator field, it listed a name. Albert Mollon.
I couldn& #39;t believe my eyes. There was a date: 19 April 2014.
And even more incredibly, in the creator field, it listed a name. Albert Mollon.
All it took was a quick Google to track Mollon down. His name returned a hit for other stock photos he had on Getty Images which made me confident he was the guy.
I found his Instagram. So I sent him a message asking for more details. And then I waited.
I found his Instagram. So I sent him a message asking for more details. And then I waited.
I& #39;ve messaged him 30+ times in the last few months. He& #39;s responded a few times.
At first he said he& #39;d get in touch with the model. Then he stopped responding.
I asked him to pass on a message.
Then I just asked if Mollon would answer a few questions.
At first he said he& #39;d get in touch with the model. Then he stopped responding.
I asked him to pass on a message.
Then I just asked if Mollon would answer a few questions.
Last night I pulled out the big guns: "it& #39;s my last day", I whined.
He responded: "sorry i don& #39;t interest about it."
So that& #39;s where I am at. Heartbreaking.
(PS if you know this man PLEASE let me know my DMs are open)
He responded: "sorry i don& #39;t interest about it."
So that& #39;s where I am at. Heartbreaking.
(PS if you know this man PLEASE let me know my DMs are open)
oh also i& #39;m looking for a job lol pls hire me