Anonymous Hackers Target Jihadist Twitter Accounts And Websites: Nine Down

Anonymous has its own way of engaging in the war on terror. The hacktivist group known for using its skills for social justice is taking down jihadist websites -- about 10 so far -- in retaliation for the terrorist attacks in Paris last week that left 17 dead. Twelve of those deaths were journalists for the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and five were customers at a kosher market.

In the campaign dubbed #OpCharlieHebdo, the group took its first victim on Saturday night – crashing jihadist forum Ansar al Haqq and redirecting it to search engine Duck Duck Go.

The forum is still offline as of Monday, and the hacker group named 14 other websites that it will target on Pastebin as part of the #OpCharlieHebdo initiative. Currently, nine of the 14 sites it named have been taken down.

“Attacking freedom of speech is attacking Anonymous. We will not permit it,” the group said in a YouTube video on Sunday. “Any organizations or enterprises linked to those terrorists attacks should expect a massive reaction from Anonymous. We are tracking you down. We will find you and not leave you any rest."

Anonymous is also targeting Twitter accounts linked to jihadist users. Last week, the group published a list of Twitter accounts that allegedly belonged to jihadists, asking other users to “get the word out” and requesting that Twitter block them.

Anonymous is doing all of this in the name of freedom of speech, though some online users have deemed the group hypocritical for condemning one method of free speech for another.

However, the group, which has also been outspoken in cases like the Mike Brown shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and the 2012 rape of a high school girl in Steubenville, Ohio, isn’t backing down.

“Anonymous must remind every citizen that the press’ freedom is fundamental to democracy. Opinions, speech, newspaper articles without threats nor pressure, all those things are rights you can’t change,” the group said on Pastebin.