Anonymous has been declared dead by its most famous former member, after the group failed to ignite the “war on Trump” it had claimed it would.
The online hacktivist group placed a target on Donald Trump’s head during his presidential campaign, announcing “#OpTrump” as a result of the now president-elect’s comments regarding Muslims. In a now-deleted video Donald Trump, the group said: “It has come to our attention that you want to ban all muslims to enter the United States. This policy is going to have a huge impact. This is what ISIS wants. The more Muslims feel sad, the more ISIS feel that they can recruit them. The more United States appears to be targeting Muslims not just radical Muslims. You can be sure that ISIS would put that up on they social media campaign. Donald Trump think twice before you speak anything . you have been warned Mr Donald Trump.”
However, after performing a DDoS attack on a Trump Tower website, the group did little else to prevent Trump from getting into office, with its “war” on the businessman petering out in embarrassing fashion. In a feature on Vice News looking into why #OpTrump was so lackluster, the outlet spoke to Hector Monsegur, best known for his work with the group under the moniker “Sabu.” Along with his work with Anonymous, Hector also co-founded LulzSec — a hacking group whose targets included the mighty News Corporation — before eventually becoming an FBI informant. Hector spoke candidly about his thoughts on Anonymous in its current state, saying: “My personal opinion is that the concept, movement, and organization that is Anonymous is simply dead.” He continued: “The media helped prop up Anonymous, and the media also helped shape it into what it is today: an anachronism of another time. It’s possible that journalists and media organizations were burned by the failed ‘operations’ that became almost too common.”
Credit: Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
Although Anonymous has managed to carry out a number of successful operations over the years, including most famously its campaign against the Church of Scientology, in recent years the “hacktivist” movement has become known for boasting a bigger bark than bite. With many of its threats leading to very little action from those who list themselves among its ranks, they have fallen off the media’s radar which, as Hector notes, was a large part of why the group initially garnered such notoriety.
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Vice News also obtained a statement from the YourAnonNews account, who said that the Trump presidential campaign had divided its members as many supported the Republican candidate. Despite Anonymous previously being a group that ostensibly fought back against the establishment in all forms, it seems that many of its members were unwilling to place their cross-hairs on Trump, leading to a complete lack of the organization that was previously present during the group’s earlier operations.
While Anonymous still has a large online presence, with YourAnonNews boasting over 1.6 million followers, it certainly no longer receives the same amount of attention it once enjoyed. Though Sabu’s claim that it is “dead” may seem hyperbolic, considering that we haven’t seen a successful operation from the group in a few years now, it’s definitely not the force it once was.
