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AC = Domestic Terrorists?

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the you-can't-make-this-up dept.

Miang writes "A video from a recent FOX 11 (Los Angeles) newscast has surfaced on YouTube. In the segment, reporter Phil Shuman investigates so-called "Hacker Gangs" comprised entirely of anonymous users. The segment, which focuses mainly on users at 4chan, 7chan, and 420chan, seems to confuse /b/ raids and motivational poster templates with a genuine threat to the American public. For added FUD, the FOX team inserted an unrelated video of a van blowing up — twice! Presumably, one is intended to equate anonymous posting with domestic terror. The story and video can be found on the local FOX website, so it does not appear to be simply a clever parody." Cringe as you watch this video explain terms like 'LULZ' and show inspirational poster parodies as evidence of the evils of this terrifying "Group".

13 of 519 comments (clear)

  1. Yellow journalism at its finest by Chmcginn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The fact that it's a Fox affiliate isn't relevant, really. I've seen plenty of stories on local ABC, CBS, or NBC stations that were just as cringe-worthy. Even as computers have become more popular, people who really like (and understand) computers haven't.

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    Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
  2. Hackers On Steroids by LackThereof · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Apparently, the ability to phish myspace passwords from clueless users earns you the title of "Hackers on Steroids" now. OMGWTFHAX!

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    Legalize recreational marijuana. Seriously.
  3. They did bring us HP7... by rdwald · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Well, 4chan did let us all read Harry Potter 7 five days early...and the video does equate spoiling popular fantasy books with domestic terrorism...so I guess they are terrorists!

  4. Re:I actually have sympathy.... by skrolle2 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If there's anything else the victims have in common is that they take themselves way too seriously.

    The internet is a wonderful place, everyone can get their 15 minutes of fame, and more. However, it might not be the fame they want, and trying to control it is absolutely futile. Maybe posting some sob story on your livejournal that everyone on the internet can read isn't such a good idea, maybe posting too much skin on your myspace is a bad idea too. It's as if people forget why it's a good idea to protect your privacy when they go on the internet, and some of these people get burnt by it. I hope they learn something at least.

  5. Re:I actually have sympathy.... by Chmcginn · · Score: 5, Insightful

    actually have some sympathy for the reporters involved in this, because they have no clue what they're getting themselves in to.
    If reporters don't take the time to properly educate themselves on something before reporting on it, they're not doing their job, plain and simple. I don't have any sympathy for them - mainly because plenty of grandma & grandpa types who've never even heard of 4chan before that report now think their house will get firebombed if they post to the wrong message board.
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    Have you been touched by his noodly appendage?
  6. Re:I actually have sympathy.... by oohshiny · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anonymous is what happens when you give people the ability to act without reprecussions,

    And "reporter" is what happens when you have sunk so low that it doesn't matter anymore what you say as long as it's controversial.

    No matter how anonymity may be abused, it's an essential part of a functioning democracy and free society, because if you don't have it, the only people participating in discussions are those with nothing to lose.

  7. You got a bunch of people by iminplaya · · Score: 5, Insightful

    right here on Slashdot who feel the same way. "I ignore ACs" "I don't respond to ACs" "I mod ACs to -6". I think it's sick. Those people are closed minded so-n-sos. Well, all you ACs out there, I DO respond if the comment is worth responding to. I don't care where it comes from. I derive value from the comment itself, not necessarily the author. Don't let anybody shut you down. Use whatever abilities you have to be heard.

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    What?
    1. Re:You got a bunch of people by joto · · Score: 4, Insightful

      We are all more or less anonymous here on slashdot. Very few people know who hides behind a username. The problem with ACs isn't their anonymity, it's their lack of identity. It's the same thing people are discussing about certain muslim women covering their face. Not only are they anonymous (most everyone in a big city is, even if they tell you their name (which could be fake)), but they also lack an identity. If you met her later, you wouldn't be able to tell if it was the same woman, or somebody else. This makes people feel uneasy about talking to such a person, even if she is a nice religious woman, and not a bank-robber (although bank-robbers have been known to use burkas as well).

      It is no doubt that anonymity, and certainly, lack of identity, leads to antisocial behaviour. If people are to be held responsible for their actions, they need to be recognized by the people around them. That's why every discussion group on the Internet is full of people behaving antisocially, from flamers to trolls to crackpots, most of those people would have shut their mouth if it wasn't for the fact that they are anonymous. People who also choose to lack an identity (such as AC) are usually even worse, and seldom worth listening to.

      There is nothing wrong about being scared of anonymity. What is funny about the Fox 11 coverage isn't that they claim anonymous Internet users can behave badly. What is funny is that they compare this to actual real-world terrorism, which, to take it mildly, is quite a different matter.

  8. HA! by iminplaya · · Score: 5, Insightful

    As long as they get this kind of press, they'll never get bored. The FOX story is a great recruitment piece.

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    What?
    1. Re:HA! by florescent_beige · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ...The FOX story is a great recruitment piece.
      Quite. And if it occupies the kids who have nothing to do because their divorced moms and dads are too busy working to pay for their BIG STUPID PICKUP TRUCKS then I'm all for it. Keeps them off my lawn.
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      Equine Mammals Are Considerably Smaller
  9. Fox 11 Trolled by nitehawk214 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I dont know who that "Former Anonymous" they had on there was. But he is now the greatest Troll in internet history.

    Congratulations, sir. You have my undying admiration for having the balls to do a RL troll the likes of which I have never seen before.

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    I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
  10. What's wrong with people. by iamdrscience · · Score: 5, Insightful

    How is it that after all these years, there are still people who don't realize that nothing that happens on the internet is real? That hot chick you've been chatting with? There's a 95% chance she is a dude and a 5% chance that she is fat, ugly and crazy. That dude who told you he would slit your whole family's throats and shit down their esophaguses because you like original Star Trek better than the Next Generation? He's 12 years old. Porn sites that say their girls are having sex for the first time? They're lying. That e-mail you got from a guy in Nigeria who wants to give you money? You're not going to get it.

    ad infinitum.

  11. Re:Conservative Fear by dgbrownnt · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's really a shame.

    First off, you have a news station who adds a bit too much drama to their report, making it bigger than it should be. In turn, when this hits the web, it becomes a lambasting of the people who were victimized here.

    Yes, these aren't 'hackers on steroids' or anything. The report is just talking about groups of malicious internet users -- I'm sure many of them have no skills and are at best script kiddies. The point is that there are people running around harassing people. Your typical slashdotter may feel the need to make fun of the mom that found a need to get a security system and a dog, but that's EXACTLY the kind of reaction most of our parents would have if confronted with calls of death threats, posting of family members pictures and addresses online, and notices for people to do bad stuff to them.

    What you have are groups of people who do have fun being assholes to the rest of the internet. Terrorists, no. But it is a problem, none-the-less. So go ahead and laugh at the people that these assholes victimize. I, for one, don't think it's funny.