Sci-tech

Media, Politics, Sci-Tech

A brief look: No, Anonymous won’t hit Facebook on 5 November. Maybe

A brief look: No, Anonymous won’t hit Facebook on 5 November. Maybe

At least, that’s what it tweeted, in response to a YouTube video that is trending on social networks. In the video, someone claiming to be from Anonymous says the shadowy outfit will shut Facebook down on Guy Fawkes Night. But who knows, when Anonymous itself cannot agree on what it wants to do… By SIPHO HLONGWANE.

This is exactly why having loose brands tied around anonymity turn out to be a bad idea: Anybody can kidnap it for his own purposes. Case in point: Anonymous, the group of hackers who have been causing trouble all over the Internet on behalf of WikiLeaks, has had to tweet it’s not actually connected to a YouTube posted on 16 July, saying that Facebook would be shut down on Guy Fawkes Night. “TO PRESS: MEDIAS OF THE WORLD… STOP LYING! #OpFacebook is just ANOTHER FAKE! WE DONT ‘KILL’ THE MESSENGER. THAT’S NOT OUR STYLE #Anonymous”, it tweeted.

A little later, it followed it up with “#OpFacebook is being organised by some Anons. This does not necessarily mean that all of #Anonymous agrees with it.”

Watch: Message from Anonymous: Operation Facebook, November 5 2011

Whoever is behind #OpFacebook say the reason they are going to bring down the world’s largest social network is because “everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook, regardless of your privacy settings and deleting your account is impossible” and also because they collude with oppressive regimes around the world.

So there you have it. Is the video linked to Anonymous? That’s a pointless exercise, really. The question is; can they do it? They’ve already managed to hack PayPal’s site, and a smattering of others who were perceived to be anti-WikiLeaks. But Anonymous has not tried anything this ambitious before. A clue to the fact that this might be biting off more than can possibly be chewed is that they can’t even agree on whether or not they want to do this or not. DM


Read more:

Photo: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg speaks during a news conference at Facebook’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California July 6, 2011. Facebook will integrate Skype videoconferencing into its social networking service, striking a deal to cement its role as a hub for communications. REUTERS/Norbert von der Groeben.

Gallery

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

X

This article is free to read.

Sign up for free or sign in to continue reading.

Unlike our competitors, we don’t force you to pay to read the news but we do need your email address to make your experience better.


Nearly there! Create a password to finish signing up with us:

Please enter your password or get a sign in link if you’ve forgotten

Open Sesame! Thanks for signing up.

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.