Christopher Poole

Christopher Poole, known online by the alias “moot,” is an American internet entrepreneur. He founded the anonymous imageboard 4chan in October 2003 as a teenager and served as its head administrator until stepping down in January 2015. He was hired by Google in 2016, where he held roles including Area 120 partner and Google Maps product manager before leaving in April 2021.

Poole’s documented appearance in connection with Jeffrey Epstein comes from emails released as part of the Epstein files. According to MS NOW, in October 2011 Boris Nikolic — described as an adviser to Bill Gates — emailed Epstein about introducing him to a “cool guy,” linking to an online page about Poole. MS NOW reports that Epstein later wrote that he “liked” Poole and had driven him home, and that days after the meeting Nikolic emailed that “the potential for manipulation is huge.” MS NOW further reports that in November 2011 Poole coordinated with an Epstein associate about a New York meeting, in an email reading “feel free to bring anyone you think is clever!”, and that Poole’s correspondence with Epstein does not appear to have extended past the following February. The outlet notes that the exchanges came around the time 4chan launched its political board /pol/, and that its efforts to reach Poole for comment were not successful. Reporting on the released files additionally indicates that later Epstein files releases pointed to a second meeting on November 19, 2011.

Poole has publicly disputed any suggestion that Epstein influenced his site. As quoted by NewsBytes, he said the decision to add the politics board “was made weeks beforehand, and the board was added almost 24 hours prior to a first, chance encounter at a social event,” and he described meeting Epstein “one time for an unmemorable lunch meeting” at a period when he was meeting hundreds of people a month at tech events. NewsBytes quotes him as saying, “I did not meet him again nor maintain contact. I regret having ever encountered him at all.” He has similarly stated that “Epstein had nothing to do with the reintroduction of a politics board to 4chan, nor anything else related to the site.”

Is Christopher Poole in the Epstein files?

Yes. Christopher Poole, the founder of 4chan, appears in emails released as part of the Epstein files, which document that Boris Nikolic introduced him to Jeffrey Epstein in October 2011 and that the two met. Poole has stated that Epstein had nothing to do with 4chan, that they met only once, and that he regrets ever encountering Epstein. Being named in the files is not evidence of any crime or wrongdoing. People appear in these documents in many contexts — including correspondence and passing references. See the sources above for the specific, documented details.

Documents

Primary-source records that reference Christopher Poole. Inclusion in these documents is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing; Poole has said Epstein had nothing to do with 4chan and that he met him only once.

• DOJ Epstein Files (EFTA release portal) — Released Epstein records include October–November 2011 email correspondence in which Boris Nikolic introduced Poole to Epstein, who then met him once. As reported by MS NOW, the exchanges do not appear to have continued past the following February.