Emma Watson threat a hoax

• NEW: Site urges shutting down of 4chan, where other stars' nude photos appeared


• Report had said someone was threatening to release nude photos of Emma Watson


• There is no evidence that such photos of the actress exist


• Watson gave an impassioned speech about feminism at the U.N.

(CNN) -- The threat to release nude photos of actress Emma Watson was an attempt to start a viral marketing campaign to shutter the site 4chan.

After her impassioned speech for gender equality last weekend at the United Nations, Watson faced backlash, including a threat to leak alleged nude photos of the star.

Business Insider reported that an anonymous 4chan user had posted a countdown timer with a picture of the "Harry Potter" actress wiping away a tear hinting that she could become the next star to have her iCloud hacked and personal photos dispersed for the world to see.

Jennifer Lawrence, Kim Kardashian and Gabrielle Union are among the celebrities recently to have private, intimate photos splashed across the Internet. The 4chan site is where the hacked, nude photos of these other female stars initially appeared.

On Wednesday, the site mentioned in the anonymous user's posting, EmmaYouAreNext.com, was redirecting to the company Rantic Marketing with the message #ShutDown4chan.

Actress Emma Watson, a U.N. goodwill ambassador, joins U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the launch of the HeForShe campaign Saturday, September 20, at the United Nations. Watson's speech on gender equality has gone viral. Here are some other celebrities' forays into international diplomacy:

After filming a movie in Cambodia, actress Angelina Jolie began to visit refugee camps around the world. In 2001, she was named a goodwill ambassador by the U.N. Refugee Agency. Since then, Jolie has visited refugee camps in more than 30 countries, and she was appointed special envoy of the U.N. Refugee Agency in April 2012.

After a February visit to North Korea that included a basketball outing with Kim Jong Un, former NBA star Dennis Rodman called the country's supreme leader a "friend for life." In May, Rodman asked Kim via Twitter to release U.S. citizen Kenneth Bae, who was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for unspecified "hostile acts" against North Korea. Rodman's relationship with Kim is certainly unprecedented, but it's not the first time a celebrity has tried to use the limelight to advocate causes or steer policy.

In March 2003, in the days leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Dixie Chicks frontwoman Natalie Maines said to a London audience: "Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence. And we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." That comment led to nationwide backlash, and the Texas-based band has not had a song in the top 30 since. In this photograph, the Dixie Chicks perform live on stage at the Point Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, on September 2003.

While in self-induced exile in Europe, legendary aviator Charles Lindbergh became an advocate for the prevention of World War II. In 1938, Lindbergh penned a secret memo to the British, stating that military response to Adolf Hitler's violation of the Munich Agreement would be "suicide." In 1941, he spoke on behalf of the isolationist America First Committee in Des Moines, Iowa, claiming that if the U.S. were to engage in war against Germany, victory would not be likely. Here, Lindbergh testifies before the House Foreign Affairs Committee in January 1941.

In 1972, actress Jane Fonda visited North Vietnam in protest of the Vietnam War. Fonda's visit to Hanoi was marked by a number of controversial events, including a photo showing Fonda seated on an anti-aircraft battery used against U.S. forces. Fonda later apologized for the photo. In this photo, Fonda tours destruction in Hanoi on July 25, 1972.

After her career as child star, Shirley Temple Black was appointed ambassador to the United Nations by President Richard Nixon, ambassador to Ghana by President Gerald Ford and ambassador to Czechoslovakia by President George H.W. Bush. Here, Temple Black, right, confers with her secretary, Ruth Underwood, in her embassy office in December 1989.

Geri Halliwell, also known as Ginger Spice in the British pop group the Spice Girls, became a representative for the U.N. Population Fund in 1999 and released the documentary "Geri's World Walkabout," which documented her travels with the U.N. In 2006, Halliwell traveled to Zambia to promote the prevention of HIV/AIDS and bring awareness to the steadily increasing rates of maternal death. Here, Halliwell speaks at a news conference in Washington in May 2008.

In 2006, singer Harry Belafonte appeared in Venezuela with then-President Hugo Chavez and made controversial statements about Bush: "No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people support your revolution." In this photo, Belafonte, center, speaks with residents of a low-income neighborhood in Caracas, Venezuela, before meeting Chavez in January 2005.

In 2002, a year before the Iraq war began, actor Sean Penn met with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and paid a visit to al-Mansour Children's Hospital in Baghdad. Aziz says Penn spoke very strongly against aggression against Iraq by U.S. forces. In 2007, Penn also visited Chavez, to whom he penned a letter criticizing Bush.

Actress Mia Farrow, a longtime advocate for child rights, traveled to Darfur in 2004 and 2006 to advocate for the freedom of Darfuri refugees. Farrow later wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal that is widely credited with heightening awareness about Darfur and eventually led to Sudan accepting a U.N. peacekeeping force.

U2 frontman Bono, who was named the most politically effective celebrity of all time by the National Journal, has campaigned for third-world debt relief since 1999. In March 2002, he appeared next to President Bush for the unveiling of a $5 billion aid package for the world's poorest countries. The two also attended the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington in February 2006, seen here.

In 2012, actor George Clooney was arrested for civil disobedience during a protest outside the Sudanese Embassy. Clooney, who appeared in the documentary "Darfur Now," has advocated vehemently for a resolution of the Darfur conflict.

Singer Bob Geldof, alongside fellow Irishman Bono, has been a prominent advocate for anti-poverty efforts in Africa. In 1984, he helped found the charity Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. And he organized the Live Aid concert the following year.

In 2004, Oprah Winfrey documented her travels to South Africa, where she brought attention to young children who are affected by HIV/AIDS and living in poverty. Her trip brought in $7 million in donations from around the world. Three years later, Winfrey established the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Actor Don Cheadle has been a prominent activist for the end of genocide in Darfur. Along with fellow actors Clooney and Brad Pitt, Cheadle helped start the Not On Our Watch Project, an organization focused on preventing mass atrocities. Cheadle was named U.N. Environment Program Goodwill Ambassador in 2010.

Actress Ashley Judd, a global ambassador for YouthAIDS, actively campaigns for awareness of international poverty. In 2010, Judd traveled to the Democratic Republic of Congo to raise awareness of how sexual violence is driven by conflict minerals in Congo. Here, Judd speaks in Mumbai, India, while raising awareness about AIDS in March 2007.

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

Celebrities and diplomacy

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Photos: Celebrities' forays into diplomacy

Hear Emma Watson's speech on feminism

Emma Watson's stirring speech

"Join us as we shutdown 4chan and prevent more private pictures from being leaked," a message on the site says. "None of these women deserve this and together we can make a change."

There is also a letter to President Barack Obama that reads, "We have been hired by celebrity publicists to bring this disgusting issue to attention. The recent 4chan celebrity nude leaks in the past 2 months have been an invasion of privacy and is also clear indication that the internet NEEDS to be censored. Every Facebook like, share & Twitter mention will count as a social signature -- and will be one step closer to shutting down www.4chan.org. "

Visitors to the site are offered a link to send the letter to the White House. Rantic bills itself on its site as "a social media marketing enterprise that has participated in some of the most viral campaigns and music videos."

So far there is no evidence that nude pictures of Watson actually exist; 4chan, the online message board, has become known as a place where pranksters previously have posted hoaxes.

Writing for The Washington Post, Soraya Nadia McDonald tied the threat, as well as false Internet reports that Watson had died, to "a long history of this sort of bullying aimed at women on the Internet, especially feminists."

"It's just the latest in a long history of online efforts to intimidate, belittle, threaten and cow women into hiding and shutting up -- the message, of course, being, if you dare to do or say something we don't like, we'll expose you in return," McDonald wrote.

Watson's speech, delivered Saturday as part of her role as a goodwill ambassador for U.N. Women, drew attention for her poignant remarks about the need for equality and for men to embrace feminism.

"If men don't have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won't feel compelled to be submissive," she said. "If men don't have to control, women won't have to be controlled. Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong. ... It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, not as two opposing sets of ideals."

Opinion: Emma Watson gives feminism new life