Anonymous

"Fear gives intelligence, even to fools."

— Anonymous

Structure

Anonymous lacks any true structure. It is a collection of individuals from all over the world who work towards a better future for the people. Since there is no true leadership, no actions taken can be attributed to the organization as a whole. Membership itself is open to anyone who wants to state they are a part of it. Parmy Olson, a journalist for Forbes magazine actually stated, "If you believe in Anonymous, and call yourself Anonymous, you are Anonymous." Organized activities may be carried out by one or more people in the name of Anonymous. Despite the openness of this organization, Time included them in their "100 Most Influential People in the World" in 2012.

Public Agenda

Many of the activities conducted on behalf of Anonymous are in relation to public knowledge and benefit. It is an internet-based socialist community that targets governments, corporations, organizations, and individuals who are seen as acting outside the law. They are commonly referred to as the Digital Robin Hood.

History

The name Anonymous was inspired by users of a site known as 4chan between the years of 2003 and 2007. Originally, the group would just post images and other nonsense "for the lulz." In 2008 they first became associated with hacktivism after a series of attacks on the Church of Scientology known as Project Chanology. Since then various attacks have been made towards companies such as Aiplex Software (launched DDoS attacks on websites that abused copyright infringement), PayPal, Amazon.com, and others.
In 2011 and 2012, Anonymous began to diversify its attacks, taking actions to support the Arab Spring movements (Arab Revolution), attacking the Westboro Baptist Church after they began picketing funerals of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims with signs that read "God Hates Fags," helping to spread the Occupy Wall Street movement, and many others.
Throughout the decades, Anonymous has become more and more about the people and less about trolling the internet. They have done everything from attacking child pornography sites to raising money for disaster areas, to helping protests and revolutions to better humanity, and protecting people from the corrupt.
Many in the organization have been arrested throughout the years, but the heart of Anonymous has stayed strong. They have become the real-world vigilante with the goal of holding people in power accountable and making the world a better place.

We are Anonymous.

We are Legion.

We do not forgive.

We do not forget.

Expect Us.

Members of Anonymous may be recognized by the Guy Fawkes mask, which was adopted after the 2005 movie "V for Vendetta"

Type

Political, Activist

Alternative Names

Also termed Hacktivists

Notable Members

• Naomi Caldwell

Additional Notes:

Anonymous is responsible for stealing the software program that became the base of the Nightmare Virus. It is claimed that members of the organization had infiltrated the government research team that had worked on the program, and after seeing the government attempt to cover up the results, had chosen to leak the software to other members who fashioned it into an automatic mandatory update on LiFE devices in the year 2034.