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Anonymous (hacker group)
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<p>Anonymous is a <a href="/facts/Decentralized/5koMXAUs">decentralized</a> international <a href="/facts/Activism/SCUlsxxH">activist</a> and <a href="/facts/Hacktivism/Pf2eep2m">hacktivist</a> <a href="/facts/Collective/46AyTlC2">collective</a> and <a href="/facts/Social_movement/MMt07XNv">movement</a> primarily known for its various <a href="/facts/Cyberattack/6PSQzq7y">cyberattacks</a> against several governments, government institutions and <a href="/facts/Government_agency/JtIrud40">government agencies</a>, <a href="/facts/Corporation/hykSVoWJ">corporations</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Church_of_Scientology/7ymYWP74">Church of Scientology</a>. </p><p>Anonymous originated in 2003 on the <a href="/facts/Imageboard/w5n42Clc">imageboard</a> <a href="/facts/4chan/eSLuYvUN">4chan</a> representing the concept of many online and offline community users simultaneously existing as an "<a href="/facts/Anarchy/BA6reeTa">anarchic</a>", digitized "<a href="/facts/Global_brain/FHg0eJA2">global brain</a>" or "<a href="/facts/Collective_consciousness/9wjz7f0G">hivemind</a>". Anonymous members (known as <i>anons</i>) can sometimes be distinguished in public by the wearing of <a href="/facts/Guy_Fawkes_mask/xHM6aw0v">Guy Fawkes masks</a> in the style portrayed in the <a href="/facts/V_for_Vendetta/SHPfhJJ7">graphic novel</a> and <a href="/facts/V_for_Vendetta_(film)/AkGKJgXr">film</a> <i>V for Vendetta</i>. Some anons also opt to mask their voices through <a href="/facts/Voice_changer/nz8fmpcU">voice changers</a> or <a href="/facts/Text-to-speech/ceTczTv9">text-to-speech</a> programs. </p><p>Dozens of people have been arrested for involvement in Anonymous <a href="/facts/Cyberattack/6PSQzq7y">cyberattacks</a> in countries including the <a href="/facts/United_States/P0sCdLe5">United States</a>, the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a>, <a href="/facts/Australia/qLHpbppq">Australia</a>, the <a href="/facts/Netherlands/y8xn5stT">Netherlands</a>, <a href="/facts/South_Africa/vvXQpLgq">South Africa</a>, <a href="/facts/Spain/bIyrB8EY">Spain</a>, <a href="/facts/India/QW4TV4sy">India</a>, and <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a>. Evaluations of the group's actions and effectiveness vary widely. Supporters have called the group "freedom fighters" and digital <a href="/facts/Robin_Hood/IvyKArGI">Robin Hoods</a>, while critics have described them as "a cyber lynch-mob" or "cyber terrorists". In 2012, <i><a href="/facts/Time_(magazine)/N4FXc99l">Time</a></i> called Anonymous one of the "<a href="/facts/Time_100/12J5tflY">100 most influential people</a>" in the world. Anonymous' media profile diminished by 2018, but the group re-emerged in 2020 to support the <a href="/facts/George_Floyd_protests/5dlbq6A3">George Floyd protests</a> and other causes. </p>