AC = Domestic Terrorists?

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".

Comments

Re:Yellow journalism at its finest

[florescent_beige]

Absolutely there is yellow journalism involved here.

Let's be honest ok? We all have have deep dark suspicions there are secret organized groups who go around manipulating message boards. An innocuous example is Snakes On A Plane. If you go to cinemamontreal, half the user comments are english, whereas the normal fraction is about 10%. That made me think maybe I wasn't so paranoid after all.

The exploding van is apropos, because people associated with Anonymous did threaten several football stadiums with radioactive dirty truck bombs. One of them is charged with a crime. And lets not forget one of them also left a myspace kid's mom a threatening phone message involving the words "slit" and "throat".

As an amateur psychologist and observer of human nature I'd guess anyone who thinks "lulz" is cool isn't a very sophisticated thinker; this bunch are probably just alienated kids. Still, just because they use the internet and their moniker sounds a little like AC doesn't mean they get my sympathy.