@Anonpress - #OpISIS and our affiliation to it

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#OpISIS & Us

It’s always strange seeing Anonymous operations in the mainstream media, especially with the immediacy and furor as we’ve seen with #OpISIS & #OpParis. Speaking honestly I find it a little stupid and often cheap journalism, there’s no centralized mouthpiece for Anonymous and while bold headlines read that "Anonymous is now at war with ISIS", a large number of us have been for awhile. Where was the same coverage then? It’s just an easy report for people that understand nothing about Anonymous to make. Clicks are $ after all.

We, @Anonpress, neither created, shared nor ascribed to the video that was made. That said, we do support #OpISIS but it isn’t our operation and is one that we feel runs the risk of showboating more than helping. The media didn’t help in that respect, and it shouldn’t be a criticism leveled at the Anons working to achieve good things. Most of whom are doing so without publication, so don’t assume that the vocal elements of our group are the only activity and the only representation of our efforts.

We aren’t actively involved with the more intricate and aggressive sides of the operation. We work with information and data, and always have done. So in some areas we naturally align with the operation and thus will take a part in, and comment on, elements of it.

When it comes to #OpISIS this is primarily through three areas:

- Recruitment -

We target areas of influence, particularly toward the young and impressionable, and attempt to shut them down at the source. This is to stop the glamorization of attacks and ISIS' actions to young people around the world. These are people who are good at coercing and influencing others to do their own bidding. One of the stark issues facing the West is people leaving their respective country to join ISIS and commit atrocities, and it is these initial lines of manipulation we aim to sever.

- Location -

Members and supporters of ISIS aren’t the most technologically aware. They do leave location data in photographs, they don’t cover their tracks and they sometimes tweet with location services on. I don’t think it needs detailing why uncovering geographical information on these people is beneficial, especially when passed to the relevant authorities.

- Information -

Alongside regular communications are documents and other information that can be useful not only in understanding how ISIS operates and plans their attacks, but also the nature of them and their exit-strategies as well. We don’t expect to be able to stop attacks like those seen in Paris, but the information we can offer is of use to people who can.

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So that’s where we come in, and we won’t show off numbers and stats, details and the like when we do act. We’d rather give the information to those who find it useful. Especially as often information can be false, misinterpreted or lacking context (you need only look toward the recent KKK mess). We will not risk lives for a few retweets, or to combat the claims that we ‘do nothing’. We are unwavering in that respect.

Do we think we can ‘crush ISIS’? No, and I don’t know how we could. I don’t know what the ultimate solution is to power vacuums and their fulfillment in the Middle East. I think we can make a difference, I think even the smallest Anon out there reporting twitter accounts of suspected members can help. We’re not going to post videos making grand claims, we’re not going to sit there and tell people to ‘back off’ while we handle it. That is naive, and a childish way to view problems of the world.

We can help though, and that is what we must do.
We love people, we love you. We love Diesel, we love Lebanon, we love Paris.
We stand for you, and right now this means doing what we can against Daesh.
We’ll do it with or without you, as we always have, but we appreciate the support we get.

Stay safe people. I hope that clarifies our position on and in #OpISIS.

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Now, onto a few criticisms.
We are the internet hate machine, after all.

Criticisms:

- Publicly released lists -

The nonchalant releasing of details that could potentially risk the lives of innocents by Anonymous and other parties. We won’t share names, profiles and the like with the public via twitter. Not only is that information best used in the hands of people that can fully act on it, but we also lack the means to completely verify it all to the degree of certainty that we would need. We have seen recent, very real, damage to that effect and that isn’t the result we look for when engaging. We shouldn't cower from sending information to the relevant authorities (and there is a distinction there between handing over and working with) in order to better our chances at affecting help and change.

- The ‘Anonymous’ gag -

People who sneer at Anonymous doing anything about ISIS and turn around in the same day and tweet quotes like “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” to ‘inspire thought’. The people that paint symbols of peace on their toned chests and pull a duck face to show solidarity. Those who instantly start trying to hawk political agendas and merchandise with Jean Jullien’s symbol on it while people are still dying in the streets. Laugh all you want at us doing what we can, but check yourself first.

- World Issues -

Remember the scope of ISIS and the many people that are living the terror we saw a glimpse of in Paris. Whether it’s Boko Haram or bombs in Beirut it’s important to pan out and see the issue as a whole. We’re also guilty of too narrow a focus, but I also know that within Anonymous exist news channels covering every single part of the world. We, @Anonpress, have to pinpoint to be effective. We can't offer current happenings for all the terrors in the world but we try to focus on what we can achieve, and do that well. Other Anons are doing the same in other areas. Anonymous has been involved in operations around the world trying to help people, and we will continue to.

That said, outside of Anonymous I feel my initial statement of scope and getting the whole picture is particularly poignant, and needs to be remembered by everyone from mass-media to the lone-tweeter. Facebook in particular, while adding in a good and beneficial system that helped people in Paris, also left others out to dry. That doesn't negate the good they did, but the question is an important one to ask; Why them and not Beirut? Just because terror is an every day occurrence in parts of the world, doesn’t make it any less terrifying for those living in them. I don’t expect equal weighting of reports in the world that we live in, but at least some awareness and coverage would be better than what we've seen recently. We're all human, and we all care. Just remember to show it.

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In case you can't be bothered to read a large wall of text: http://i.imgur.com/6YmDSQU.png

- Anonymous (as part of @AnonPress)

http://i.imgur.com/KBUV8F1.png

#AnonFamily #Anonymous #Daesh