the Tor Project up until his ouster.

The rape allegations themselves are extremely dubious. What can best be described as a character assassination site was published shortly before the accusations became public. It is filled with stories detailing the abuses suffered by his alleged victims and pictures of Appelbaum looking vaguely sinister. Of the stories published, only a few constitute sexual assault, let alone rape. The rest are anecdotes or opinions portraying him as brutish, abusive and manipulative.

Half of the stories end by editorializing about how Appelbaum has great power and is a bully, due either to his own malicious personality or to his semi-celebrity status in the hacker community. These stories invariably end by pleading for action against him or by hailing the present smear campaign.

Those leveling chargesmotive to speak on my behalf without my consent.”

Meanwhile, a group of 11 women who had previously worked with Appelbaum wrote a letter testifying to his character and at odds with the depiction of his accusers. The letter appeals to reason and due process.

The Tor Project has recently conducted a two-month internal investigation into the matter and concluded that the allegations are true. However, the circumstances of the investigation are extremely suspicious. The internal investigation did not question Appelbaum himself, nor has it resulted in any legal charges against him.

As of December 2015, the new executive director of Tor Project is Shari Steele, a lawyer who has a long history working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Her husband is currently a vice president at Amazon and previously worked