It’s been a week since we’ve collectively learned of the existence of a young man known as Edward “Big Balls” Coristine, and we’re all certainly much dumber for it. But if you thought that was the last we’d hear of Big Balls, I regret to inform you there’s so much more to learn.
Related
Karma chameleon
The high school-aged DOGE staffer and state department adviser (depressing) was allegedly also behind a 2021 image sharing site that allowed users to create some quite nauseating and scary custom URLs, per a new bombshell report.
Roblox has functioned as a lord of the flies simulator for young teens for years and it has incubated a small subset of gen z who have already engaged in substantial cybercrimes such as distribution of CSAM, sextortion of minors, harassment, abuse, and stalking all before they have even turned 18.
— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) February 11, 2025 at 10:06 AM
[image or embed]
Culture, unfiltered
Our newsletter will bring you the pulse of queer culture, from the tastemakers to the groundbreakers.
The site, known as tesla.sexy, was manned by a then 16-year-old Coristine, seemed to have no problem with the creation of horrifying custom URLs, and as Alejandra Caraballo points out, it’s sadly less surprising than you’d think. Young male Internet natives like Coristine, she explains, have been hanging out in online spaces like Roblox where disinformation and racist, sexist, extremist content are par for the course.
Many of these platforms have effectively been a fascist breeding ground for years. Part of the reason why young gen z men are going to the right is that the online ecosystems they interact with are filled to the brim with extremist content pushing them to hate everyone and everything. It's nihilism.
— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) February 11, 2025 at 10:08 AM
But if that’s the case, how do we bring alt right young men back from the edge? Is it possible?
“The Internet was a mistake,” one Bluesky user commented. Another chimed in: “Its [sic] not the internet, its [sic] humanity.”
One user said it best: “Presently, I’m rooting for the asteroid,” referencing the giant asteroid Vesta that has a 2% chance of colliding with Earth in the next decade. Perhaps it will finally put us all out of our misery.
Sign up for the INTO newsletter and get your twice-weekly dose of stories that shape the queer experience, culture, and lifestyle.
