Every time Anonymous makes a public appearance, it is THE comeback of the decade.

There is no specific leader, for Anonymous is a group of hacktivists and political activists around the world with a similar belief. Commonly known for individuals wearing a mask with a mustache from “V for Vendetta” to hide one’s identities, Anonymous is known for its digital attacks against governments and organizations. What makes Anonymous so untouchable?

Well for one, we don’t who’s involved with the notorious movement. It very well may be somebody you’ve admired from the media, a family friend, or even your dog (No wonder why my dog constantly looks at me funny). With Anonymous having an infamous resume, it’s no shocker that Anonymous is able to cover up their tracks, not leaving a speck of dust behind.

What previously was a series of pranks on the web on 4chan, later on, became a movement in taking on genuine matters around the world.

A well-known operation Anonymous performed against the Church of Scientology was called Project Chanology. When researching what the Church of Scientology was, I was frowning the entire time, not understanding what the belief was. One thing is for sure, countries like France see the group as a dangerous cult and a “manipulative profit-making business.” In 2008, Tom Cruise was interviewed in a Scientology video which viewers thought were humorous. Not the church though. Scientology tried to remove the video, claiming it was a copy-right violation. Anonymous responded to Scientology’s action as internet censorship. There were attempts of re-uploading the interview on many different sites, but Scientology had connections that enable them to take down the clips in a matter of minutes. This brought awareness around the world, and Anonymous simply said ‘let us all stand in front of the Scientology buildings on this date.’ From major cities from America to Australia, to Israel, to London, people stood in front of Scientology buildings challenging the church’s problematic actions. Allegedly, if one were to bad mouth Scientology, there would be someone harassing/following you home. Project Chanology became a turning point to what Anonymous stands for today, freedom on the internet.

Anonymous made headlines when they showed public support to the Black Lives Matter movement back in the late spring of 2020. “We do not trust your corrupt organization to carry out justice, so we will be exposing your many crimes to the world,” a direct message to the Minneapolis Police Department. When I tell my jaw-dropped, IT DROPPED. Anonymous did a touch of shazaam, and the Minneapolis Police Department and official city websites were taken down. Was that enough? Nah. Anonymous leaked emails and passwords. A cherry on top as the finisher.

Operation Quebec… an operation against the government of Quebec. In 2012, students protested on the streets when the Quebec Cabinet proposed an increase in university tuition. I would be upset too. With the government passing Bill 78, forbidding protests near university grounds and requiring police approval for public protests, that was the straw, prompting Anonymous to intervene. Anonymous threatened to jeopardize the Grand Prix, an auto race, as well as leaked a video of a party that took place related to Power Corporation, focuses on financial services, with guests such as George Bush seen in the two-hour footage. What’s an Anonymous activity without hacking into at least one website? Yup, Anonymous had government-related sites electronically attacked, having the sites inaccessible for a period of time.

TRIGGER WARNING 

In Steubenville, Ohio, a tragedy took place. Two members of a high school football team were convicted of kidnapping and raping a 16-year-old. When the small town tried to push the assault under the rug, Anonymous, fortunately, heard of the story and made a move.

After Anonymous uploaded “the Nodi video” that took place the night of the assault on social media, the story became a national topic. Demanding justice for the high school teen, allies of Anonymous came together to rally. With people uniting, this gave women of all ages the confidence to come forth to speak on their once hidden abuse.

More common operations were the ones against Paypal, Visa, and Mastercard for using Wikilinks; Uganda LGBT rights; Operation KKK; and Operation Egypt.

It doesn’t matter whether all of Anonymous’ operations are successful, the actions that take place brings attention to issues governments wish to not bring light to. Anonymous may not consistently be active on the internet, but Anonymous is not gone. Anonymous is not defined by this or that, but the ideology and movement of having the public see the truth. I have to say this to get it off my chest, though Anonymous is a leaderless activist group, the entity of Anonymous is kind of… attractive, right? Yes? No? Somebody back me up on this, please.