Anonymous and the KKK are having a Twitter fight over Ferguson protests. Anonymous is winning.
The Ku Klux Klan's Twitter feed has probably never been so popular: On Sunday, after a week of online sparring, the hacktivist collective Anonymous appears to have taken control of two KKK Twitter accounts and knocked offline one of its websites:
Until Twitter steps in or the KKK somehow wrests control of its Twitter feed by itself, this is @KuKluxKlanUSA's avatar:
The fight started after a KKK chapter in Missouri, Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, threatened to use "lethal force" against "terrorists masquerading as 'peaceful protestors'" in Ferguson, the St. Louis suburb on edge awaiting the grand jury decision on Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown under contested circumstances. In response, Anonymous started publicly revealing the names and other details of KKK members and declared "cyber warfare" on the Klan. The KKK responded with taunting.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In a video posted Friday by Anonymous Australia, a computer voice tells the KKK that Anonymous isn't "attacking you because of what you believe in, as we fight for freedom of speech." Instead, "we are attacking you because of your threats to use lethal attacks against us at the Ferguson protests." You can read more about the fight at ZDNet, but needless to say, two secretive groups threatening each other probably won't lower the temperature in Ferguson. And as long as this fight stays online, though, I wouldn't bet on the KKK.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
'A new era of hurricanes'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
How Britain's demographic is changing
A 50-year record population increase was fuelled by greater migration
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
The story of Japanese jeweller Tasaki
The Blend A revival in the use of pearls in fashion and jewellery design places heritage brand Tasaki centre stage
By Felix Bischof Published
-
Trump kept up with Putin, sent Covid tests, book says
Speed Read The revelation comes courtesy of a new book by Bob Woodward
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Liz Cheney campaigns with Harris in Wisconsin
Speed Read The pair does not agree on much politically, but they share an anti-Trump stance
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Harris visit storm-hit North Carolina, Georgia
Speed Read President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took separate tours of the south to view the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Jack Smith filing details Jan. 6 case against Trump
Speed Read The special counsel's newly unsealed brief argues Trump is not immune from prosecution and gives new details on his efforts to overturn the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
1 of 6 'Trump Train' drivers liable in Biden bus blockade
Speed Read Only one of the accused was found liable in the case concerning the deliberate slowing of a 2020 Biden campaign bus
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Netanyahu makes controversial address
Speed Reads Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress denounced Gaza war protestors
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published