Anonymous members have hijacked a number of Isis Twitter accounts in response to the Orlando shooting this weekend; replacing jihadist content with gay pride messages and pornography.
The online activist group, who have been officially “at war” with the militant group since November’s Paris attacks, replaced pro-Isis header images, profile pictures and tweets with pro-LGBT slogans. They also included links to gay porn sites – though avoided anything too explicit out of respect to the Islamic religion.
So far, one member of Anonymous – known only as WauchulaGhost – has claimed responsibility for the move. “I did it for the lives lost in Orlando,” the hacker revealed to Newsweek. “Daesh (Isis) have been spreading and praising the attack, so I thought I would defend those that were lost. The taking of innocent lives will not be tolerated.”
The vigilante hacktivist has apparently already taken down 200 Twitter accounts belonging to Isis supporters, and plans to continue the campaign with two other hackers. “One thing I do want to say is we aren’t using graphic porn and our purpose is not to offend Muslims,” WachulaGhost stressed. “Our actions are directed at Jihadist extremists. Many of our own are Muslim and we respect all religions that do not take innocent lives.”
Anonymous has been sending mixed messages over the recent Orlando attacks. While some members remain passionate about keeping up the online fight with Isis, others have shown less enthusiasm. @YourAnonNews, one of the principal accounts used by the open group, revealed on Tuesday that the “silly” war could only be won offline. “You do not fight Isis on the internet,” the user tweeted. “You defeat them through unity instead of creating the division they want”.
