Who are the members of Anonymous? Why are they hacking Elon Musk?
On Saturday, a video targeting Elon Musk was allegedly released by the infamous hacking group known as Anonymous. Similar to other Anonymous footage, the video features an individual in a Guy Fawkes mask with a distorted voice, so viewers can’t tell who lurks behind the mask. This time, the speaker is bashing the billionaire Elon Musk for allegedly irresponsibly controlling the cryptocurrency market.
The individual described the recent peaks & crashes of various cryptocurrencies at the hands of Musk and his frivolous tweets. These statements seemed accurate considering the unprecedented rise in Dogecoin after Musk had appeared to support the currency on Twitter.
So what gives? Can we finally answer the question: who are anonymous? Will this infamous group of hackers actually take down Musk, or is this for the lulz? Let’s dive in.
Musk, Bitcoin, and social media
Subsequently, Musk tweeted his concerns over the environmental impact of Bitcoin and decided that Tesla will no longer accept this giant cryptocurrency. Soon after, the value of Bitcoin dropped dramatically.
On Friday, Musk jokingly tweeted a breakup meme to his 56 million followers which many presumed was hinting at the possibility of Tesla selling its Bitcoins. Right after Musk’s tweet went viral, the value of Bitcoin quickly dropped by 7%.
“As hard-working people have their dreams liquidated over your public temper tantrums, you continue to mock them with memes from one of your million-dollar mansions,” the Anonymous member stated.
“For the past several years you have enjoyed one of the most favorable reputations of anyone in the billionaire class because you have tapped into the desire that many of us have to live in a world with electric cars and space exploration,” said the supposed Anonymous hacker in the recent video on Twitter.
The speaker then claimed the CEO’s “quest to save the world is more rooted in a superiority and savior complex than it is an actual concern for humanity”. The Anonymous speaker then continued to describe that Musk is the only CEO to have “gained a cult following through s**tposting and trolling the world on social media”.
Claiming Elon Musk’s history of mistreatment & negligence
The Anonymous member also referred to an article describing the conditions at Tesla factories as “intolerable” for employees, and another which claimed that Elon Musk’s family previously owned an emerald mine in Zambia. The alleged Anonymous hacker thus stated that the actions of the billionaire CEO “show a clear disregard for the average working person”.
The masked activist then cited previous comments by Musk which possibly illustrate his reported ambivalence. The hacker presented a quote from Musk stating, “we will coup whoever we want” in concern to the U.S.-backed coup on the Bolivian ousted president Evo Morales.
Additionally, the individual revealed a quote from the CEO where he jokingly called himself the “imperator of Mars” in reference to his stated goal of colonizing the planet. The Anonymous member further stated that Musk claimed a “bunch of people will probably die” in the mission.
Who are the members of Anonymous?
Anonymous is a decentralized international activist collective/movement mostly known for its numerous cyber attacks against several governments, government institutions, and corporations.
Due to the anonymity of the group, no one knows who’s involved in the infamous hacking collective, or what their actual motives are. Each video from Anonymous features a speaker in a mask with a completely distorted voice.
The speaker ended the video with the familiar closing, “You may think you are the smartest person in the room, but now you’ve met your match. We are anonymous. We are Legion. Expect us.”
Who really posted the video?
However, there are some doubts about the validity of the video’s source – as in, was it really posted by Anonymous? Various accounts linked to the hacking collective have reported contrasting reactions to the video.
The Twitter account YourAnonCentral is the most popular account and considered the most reliable, has denied any involvement with the recent video about Musk. This account has been active since April 2011 and has 6.7 million followers.
On the contrary, another account known as YourAnonNews, which was also created in 2011, has reportedly supported the latest video. Therefore, it’s difficult to conclude whether this recent viral video is an authentic message from the Anonymous group.
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After only twenty minutes of the video’s release, Elon Musk swiftly responded to the clip by tweeting, “Don’t kill what you hate, save what you love”.
The viral video has now reached over 1 million views and ignited the frustration of countless cryptocurrency investors. Have you seen the video yet? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
