Anonymous

**Anonymous** is a [decentralized](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized "Decentralized") international [activist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activism "Activism") and [hacktivist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacktivism "Hacktivism") [collective](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective "Collective") and [movement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_movement "Social movement") primarily known for its various [cyberattacks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberattack "Cyberattack") against several governments, government institutions and [government agencies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_agency "Government agency"), [corporations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporation "Corporation"), and the [Church of Scientology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Scientology "Church of Scientology"). Anonymous originated in 2003 on the [imageboard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imageboard "Imageboard") [4chan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4chan "4chan") representing the concept of many online and offline community users simultaneously existing as an "[anarchic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchy "Anarchy")", digitized "[global brain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_brain "Global brain")" or "[hivemind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_consciousness "Collective consciousness")".[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-citypaper-2)[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-3)[\[4\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-4) Anonymous members (known as *anons*) can sometimes be distinguished in public by the wearing of [Guy Fawkes masks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guy_Fawkes_mask "Guy Fawkes mask") in the style portrayed in the [graphic novel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphic_novel "Graphic novel") and film *[V for Vendetta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_for_Vendetta "V for Vendetta")*.[\[5\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-5) Some anons also opt to mask their voices through [voice changers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_changer "Voice changer") or [text-to-speech](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text-to-speech "Text-to-speech") programs. Dozens of people have been arrested for involvement in Anonymous [cyberattacks](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberattack "Cyberattack") in countries including the [United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States "United States"), the [United Kingdom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom "United Kingdom"), [Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia "Australia"), the [Netherlands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands "Netherlands"), [South Africa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa "South Africa"),[\[6\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-6) [Spain](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain "Spain"), [India](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India "India"), and [Turkey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey "Turkey"). Evaluations of the group's actions and effectiveness vary widely. Supporters have called the group "freedom fighters"[\[7\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-Krupnick-7) and digital [Robin Hoods](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Hood "Robin Hood"),[\[8\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-CBC-8) while critics have described them as "a cyber lynch mob"[\[9\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-Coleman-9) or "cyber terrorists".[\[10\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-Rawlinson-10) In 2012, *[Time](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_(magazine) "Time (magazine)")* called Anonymous one of the "[100 most influential people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_100 "Time 100")" in the world.[\[11\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-autogenerated1-11) Anonymous' media profile diminished by 2018,[\[12\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-vicetrump-12)[\[13\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-indyqanon-13) but the group re-emerged in 2020 to support the [George Floyd protests](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Floyd_protests "George Floyd protests") and other causes.[\[14\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-14)[\[15\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anonymous_(hacker_group)#cite_note-15)