A video goes viral overnight

Maddie Kowalski, 19, had nonconsensual intimate videos of her stitched together and uploaded to X in November 2025, where they were viewed millions of times alongside her name, sorority, and family details.

“You're 19 years old and a video that you don't even remember shooting, let alone consenting to, goes viral nationally.”

Harassment follows the video

Kowalski and her family received threatening calls and texts. Strangers posted her photos, her father's LinkedIn profile, and even his golf handicap online.

Meet the burnerverse

The burnerverse is a loosely connected network of anonymous burner accounts on X, ostensibly for discussing college sports but with a corner that spreads videos and rumors to shame and harass young women.

Why anonymity enables abuse

Burner accounts shield harassers from accountability. The anonymity makes participants feel comfortable spreading intimate images and false rumors without fear of consequences.

Most accounts are innocent

The vast majority of college sports burner accounts are harmless fan communities. But a sizable segment has become violently racist, misogynistic, antisemitic, and focused on doxxing young women.

Who's behind the harassment

Participants range from college students to men 10, 20, or 30 years out of college with wives, children, and grandchildren. They span all races, regions, and economic backgrounds across the country.

Mary Kate Cornett's story

In February 2025, a false rumor about Ole Miss student Mary Kate Cornett's sex life went viral nationally within hours. ESPN personality Pat McAfee discussed it on his podcast, amplifying the defamatory content.

Swatting and rapid escalation

Cornett's parents' house was swatted within hours of her going viral. The burnerverse operates with terrifying speed to make women's lives a living hell.

How sports culture fuels it

The media ecosystem around college sports, particularly Barstool Sports, creates space for rampant misogyny. Smaller Barstool accounts associated with individual colleges post defamatory content about women.

The targeting criteria

Victims are typically young, attractive, usually white women perceived to have broken sexual norms. Harassers deliberately amplify rumors, leaked texts, or photos with tweets saying 'Make her famous, make her go viral.'

“Make her famous, make her go viral.”

Why platforms can't stop it

Videos spread faster than platforms can remove them. AI tools to prevent nonconsensual images are difficult to regulate, especially with deepfakes and AI-manipulated content becoming more common.

Education and parenting matter most

The most effective prevention is parents teaching sons that women are not commodities and that social media engagement shouldn't come at the cost of real lives. Universities and fraternities need education too.

“Parents raising their sons to not be pieces of shit.”

This is a larger ecosystem

The burnerverse is part of a broader culture where men say and do horrible things to women with impunity. Nearly a dozen young women have been targeted in similar ways, and the problem extends far beyond college sports.