Anons were early supporters of the global Occupy movement and the Arab Spring. Among those that do, opinions vary considerably.' īroadly speaking, Anons oppose Internet censorship and control and the majority of their actions target governments, organizations, and corporations that they accuse of censorship. Gabriella Coleman writes of the group: 'In some ways, it may be impossible to gauge the intent and motive of thousands of participants, many of who don't even bother to leave a trace of their thoughts, motivations, and reactions. A website associated with the group describes it as 'an Internet gathering' with 'a very loose and decentralized command structure that operates on ideas rather than directives'. Internal dissent is also a regular feature of the group. The philosophy of Anonymous offers insight into a long-standing political question that has gone unanswered with often tragic consequences for social movements: what does a new form of collective politics look like that wishes to go beyond the identity of the individual subject in late capitalism? Anonymous' media profile diminished by 2018, but the group re-emerged in 2020 to support the George Floyd protests and other causes. In 2012, Time called Anonymous one of the ' 100 most influential people' in the world. Supporters have called the group 'freedom fighters' and digital Robin Hoods, while critics have described them as 'a cyber lynch-mob' or 'cyber terrorists'. Evaluations of the group's actions and effectiveness vary widely. Some anons also opt to mask their voices through voice changers or text-to-speech programs.ĭozens of people have been arrested for involvement in Anonymous cyberattacks in countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, India, and Turkey. Anonymous members (known as anons) can sometimes be distinguished in public by the wearing of Guy Fawkes masks in the style portrayed in the graphic novel and film V for Vendetta.

Anonymous is a decentralized international activist and hacktivist collective and movement primarily known for its various cyberattacks against several governments, government institutions and government agencies, corporations and the Church of Scientology.Īnonymous originated in 2003 on the imageboard 4chan representing the concept of many online and offline community users simultaneously existing as an ' anarchic', digitized ' global brain' or ' hivemind'.

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