Several companies have implemented the use of online polls in an attempt to find more creative names and stir up loyalty in their fan base. Their innocent intention is often corrupted and turned into hilarious pranks thanks to the trolls of 4Chan and reddit. So here are nine online polls that fell victim to the online world.

1. The British Government

Recently, the creators of the UK’s newest polar research ship decided that they would give the honor of naming the vessel over to public through public poll which resulted in unexpected consequences. A man by the name of James Hand submitted the name which received three times as many votes as the runner-up: “RRS Boaty McBoatface.” The committee chair questioned whether the idea of a poll had been a “triumph of public engagement or a PR disaster.” For obvious reasons, the vessel was instead named “RRS David Attenborough” after the famous broadcaster and naturalist. "Boaty McBoatface" will still live on though as a name for one of the ship’s submarines.

2. Greenpeace

In 2007, Greenpeace launched a campaign in hopes of gaining support for their Great Whale Trail Expedition, a program aimed at protecting humpback whales. Greenpeace released a public poll that would decide on the name for one of the humpback whalethat was being tracked in the South Pacific. The winner, taking up 70 percent of the vote, was "Mr. Splashy Pants." The controversial name inadvertently caused the publicity needed for Greenpeace to convince the Japanese government to not hunt the whales.

3. Mountain Dew

In 2012, Mountain

Dew created a new green-apply flavored soft drink and decided to let the name of their new drink be decided by the fans via online poll called “Dub the Dew.” The seemingly sweet idea soon went sour as names like “Gushin’ Granny,” “Diabeetus” and “Hitler did nothing wrong” battled for the top spot on the poll. The promotion was quickly shut down.

4. Taylor Swift

In August of 2012, Papa John’s and Chegg joined forces to to create a contest that would send Taylor Swift to perform at the school that received the most votes on Facebook. The internet trolls of Reddit and 4chan saw this as the perfect chance for a prank and made Horace Mann School for the Deaf the victor. Although Taylor Swift never performed, the school received over $50,000 in donations from the publicity received from the contest.

5. Pitbull

In 2012, a Facebook contest was held by Sheets Energy Strips where the Walmart store that received the most votes would be visited by Pitbull. The Walmart that won was located in Kodiak, Alaska with a population of 6,100. Even though he knew it was a prank, Pitbull still went. The town welcomed him with a care package that came with a can of bear repellent.

6. City of Austin, Texas

In 2011, the city of Austin, Texas decided that Austin’s Solid Waste Services Department needed a new name and thought the people could handle the responsibility. They were clearly wrong when "TheFred Durst Society of the Humanities and Arts” won the vote. If anything, this shows what the people of Austin think of a certain Limp Bizkit frontman.

7. Justin Bieber

In 2010, a website released a poll asking which country Justin Bieber should tour next. Of course, as soon as 4chan users found out, North Korea soon took the lead. Since the voting site was not endorsed by Bieber’s record label, there was no obligation or contract holding him to the results. Besides, due to the restrictive controls over the media in North Korea, it’s likely that none of the votes even came from within the country.

8. Pluto's Moons

In 2013, the SETI Institute held a contest to help name Pluto’s
two recently discovered moons. They knew about the hijacked polls of the

past and stated that the names must fit with mythology, but they failed to consider that Captain Kirk, or actually William Shatner, would campaign to have the two moons named "Vulcan" and "Romulus" which are the home worlds of the Vulcan and Romulan races in Star Trek. "Romulus" was already in use, but "Vulcan" won the contest by a landslide.

9. B.C. Ferries

In 2015, B.C. Ferries launched a contest to name the new
ferries with an award of $500 to the winners. This, of course, did not end well especially since their fares just increased. Names like "Spirit of The WalletSucker," "Queen of No Other Choice," "The Floating Crapsickle" and "Queen of I Should have been a Bridge" covered the submission lists.