It’s no mystery that the hackers behind notorious “hacktivist” groups Anonymous and LulzSec cause a tremendous amount of trouble for the companies and agencies they target, but thousands of young web users cheer them on with the belief that these groups are fighting for Internet freedom around the world. According to a recent profile, however, this isn’t always the case. In a rare in-depth interview with Anonymous members, The Daily Beast’s Parmy Olson uncovers the dark side of Anonymous, likening the divide between the group’s activist members and its pranksters to Batman and the Joker. While some Anonymous members indeed look to topple oppressors, others simply “try to cause chaos, lulz, whatever to have fun.” And while many hacker activists continue to fight the good fight, as they view it, the more playful Anonymous hackers are skeptical that they will ever really make a difference. “I don’t think [Anonymous] can change much in the world,” one group member told The Daily Beast. Parmy’s full interview is linked below.
Dark side of ‘Anonymous’ comes out in new interview
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 8:27PM EST
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.
