With "Anonymous" can chop each

They fight for freedom on the Net

You have the side of the SPÖ, FPÖ and the GIS, chopped attacked with Paypal and are now threatening an "Operation Facebook," the social media Giants to their knees. But who is this nebulous collective "Anonymous" really mean? Can be "Anonymous is not a classical group with a leader, but an idea in which everyone can participate.

Anonymous first appearance came in 2008 with the directed action against the Scientology religion "Project Chanology". However, they were really active after the arrest of Wikileaks Founder Julian Assange. Had locked it followed attacks on Visa and Mastercard, the accounts of Wikileaks. Meanwhile, Anonymous is not a pure Internet phenomenon more: For operations were performed simultaneously with hacker attacks and demonstrations.

The special thing about Anonymous is that the group is no group actually. "They are a little like pirates, all doing their own thing, but all sail under the skull and crossbones flag and make common cause with interesting events", described the journalist Sarah Kriesche. The common objectives are human rights, free speech and privacy.

Get hold of activists has now become very difficult. Both have long chats with the relevant authorities as well known journalists who try to uncover the "members" of Anonymous. Due to the absolute anonymity it was impossible to say how many Austrians are active in the collective. "The activists are Anonymous Tags normal pupils, students and professionals who then go into the night in the chats," said Kriesche.

The journalist believes the phenomenon will grow even further: "It is a modern form of protest, we will not necessarily be on the streets to participate in a campaign and they have proved that can really make a difference.".

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