The hacking group known as Anonymous has recently released the identities of more than 1,000 alleged sympathizers of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). According to the group, the release of this information was a way of resisting racial violence.
Last year, the KKK made threats of utilizing deadly force against people who were protesting over the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO.
However, a similar list of suspected KKK members published earlier this week appears to be false. The list contained several United States politicians, and Anonymous quickly denied the accuracy of its list.
The more recent list contains the names of people who have joined or “liked” groups associated with the KKK on either Facebook or Google+. A large number of the profiles included symbols of racism and/or oppressive slogans.
According to Anonymous, they obtained such information from interviews and digital spying. The group has collected the names over the course of a year.
The list reportedly contains official members of the KKK and also some of their closest allies. Some people were also listed with their suspected aliases. Anonymous says that many of these individuals are extremely dangerous.
However, some people are not impressed by the findings of Anonymous. According to the director of the United State Anti-Defamation League’s Center on Extremism Mark Pitcavage, the information was “low-hanging fruit” that virtually anyone could have found. For many of these people, it was no secret that they were members of the KKK. Additionally, the list also contained several errors and misspellings.
The List was a part of the group’s “Hoods Off” campaign, which came about after the KKK threatened violence against Ferguson protesters. Some of the protesters were members of Anonymous.
About a year ago, Anonymous launched attacks that were designed to bring down a website associated with the KKK. The group also hacked into Twitter accounts that were connected to the racist group.
Anonymous expert Gabriella Coleman has stated that that the outing of alleged KKK members is somewhat of a comeback for the group. In the past, the group had received criticism for failing to control its members and reporting false information.
Anonymous is mostly known for using its hacking techniques to support causes of social justice.
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