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[Vanillalite]

TechCrunch

Operation KKK, an Anonymous-led effort to shut down the Ku Klux Klan, has begun in earnest. The main Twitter account is reporting that many KKK-related sites are down after concerted hacking efforts and that more are to come as they prepare for an action called HoodsOff on November 5.

The Ku Klux Klan is classified as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center and is said to have between 5,000 and 8,000 members. Operation KKK hopes to unmask 1,000 of its prominent members.

"After closely observing so many of you for so very long, we feel confident that applying transparency to your organizational cells is the right, just, appropriate and only course of action,” wrote the representatives of hacker collective Anonymous on Tuesday. “We will carry out our mission in a responsible, effective manner. We appreciate your patience & support for this initiative.”

 

[Shaanyboi]

Great news

 

[SpaceWolf]

EDIT: Actually, now I've had a little more time to reflect on the issue, I can totally see where some people are coming from in regards to feeling concerned that innocent people could become wrongly implicated and that such matters shouldn't be left to online vigilantes. If even one person has their life ruined as a result of being falsely accused, this won't have been worth it...something that would probably be more likely to happen if this information was being wielded by those who don't know how to utilize it in a responsible and considerate manner. Plus, two wrongs don't make a right and all that.

 

[Warxard]

Cool. Racists don't deserve privacy At all honestly.

 

[Alpende]

Go for it.

 

[Visualante2]

We will carry out our mission in a responsible, effective manner.

I'm all for this if it's run through an outlet with some journalistic experience. I don't trust anonymous to properly vet the data they've obtained. I expect innocent people will be caught up in the lulz and have their lives temporarily thrown into disarray.

 

[Coins]

I'm ok with this as long as they give more detail than just a name. There will be a lot of harsh repercussions that will ruin lives and I hope due diligence is done to make sure that Bob Smith is correctly identified from the Bob Smith that lives 4 blocks over.

 

[Surface of Me]

While this seems cool, IDK about the credibility of it. Anonymous does have direct access to /pol/ on one hand. On the other hand, 4chan(Which users might be part of Anonymous or maybe not) recently propagated that one of their users was a school shooter, which he wasn't. Is it for the lulz or the truth.

 

[tkscz]

^^^

 

[BertramCooper]

Sorry, I can't get behind doxing.

 

[tokkun]

Can't support this. Internet vigilantes have too poor of a track record of incorrectly doxing innocent people. The damage to the innocent would be huge and very difficult to reverse, even with a retraction.

 

[Slayven]

Will be another cluster or a non event. And frankly the kind of people that are still in the Klan are not the kind of people that would get detailed computer records

 

[jchap]

KKK is already irrelevant. Pointless vigilantism.

 

[old manatee]

If they want to fight racism they should go after members of Congress.

 

[Dennis]

Sorry, I can't get behind doxing.

Can't support this. Internet vigilantes have too poor of a track record of incorrectly doxing innocent people. The damage to the innocent would be huge and very difficult to reverse, even with a retraction.

This is how I feel.

It is all good and well until you get it wrong.

KKK is already irrelevant. Pointless vigilantism.

This is another issue. The KKK seems like a spent force in America.

 

[Stet]

If they want to fight racism they should go after members of Congress.

What if some of the people they're revealing ARE members of Congress?

 

[Alcoremortis]

I'm more interested in the politicians they claim they found associated with the KKK. The public has a right to know about the affiliations of the representatives they're electing. And if the allegations are untrue, it's easier to set the record straight for someone in the public eye than for a private citizen.

 

[Sanjuro]

Old man Ben Carson!

And...i would have gotten away with it...if it weren't for you darn Popeye's employees.

 

[PeskyToaster]

Here's hoping someone innocent doesn't get named 'for the lulz'. I'm pretty against this type of thing. We have a process.

 

[Arthr2ShdsJcksn]

Sorry, I can't get behind doxing.

Yup. This is a clear cut issue for me. Not cool.

 

[n00bsauce87]

KKK is already irrelevant. Pointless vigilantism.

Until you find out they exist in the police force, DA office, on the bench, politicians. I already don't feel confident in the police already, but to find out that KKK members are sprinkled within will make it worse. Those are the only reveals I care about.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/14/florid-police-kkk/12645555/

 

[Aurongel]

Doxxing is bad and this is bad too. There's zero accountability here if the doxxed info leaks an incorrect name or causes harm against someone.

 

[stump sock]

Until you find out they exist in the police force, DA office, on the bench, politicians. I already don't feel confident in the police already, but to find out that KKK members are sprinkled within will make it worse. Those are the only reveals I care about.

people who act as public servants/government employees are kind of a special case, and even then I don't really know how I feel about it.

regarding everybody else, mob justice is pretty much not okay in any way, regardless of how abhorrent their associations may be.

 

[SigSig]

Sorry, I can't get behind doxing.

Can't support this. Internet vigilantes have too poor of a track record of incorrectly doxing innocent people. The damage to the innocent would be huge and very difficult to reverse, even with a retraction.

This. The end doesn't justify the means, especially with the risk of destroying the lives of uninvolved people. If they'd, say, hand over the data to a third party who could responsibly disclose it, do some research and expose people at the top/public figures, I'd feel better about this.
I know this is merely shifting the problem towards somebody else, but I don't trust vigilantes with personal data.

 

[Grimm Fandango]

I'm ok with this as long as they give more detail than just a name. There will be a lot of harsh repercussions that will ruin lives and I hope due diligence is done to make sure that Bob Smith is correctly identified from the Bob Smith that lives 4 blocks over.

You want addresses too or so something? That's going too far.

 

[internetwolf]

This is uncalled for regardless if the people being exposed are scum

 

[Ziltoidia 9]

This seems like a thing that needs to be done very ethnically, say, if the person they are going to oust is a public figure, police officer, politician, etc.

 

[213372bu]

Yup. This is a clear cut issue for me. Not cool.

Can't get behind doxxing, especially when it might mean that in the process that some of the info is going to be incorrectly attributed to someone else as being a KKK member.

 

[GeordieMark]

Can't support this. Internet vigilantes have too poor of a track record of incorrectly doxing innocent people. The damage to the innocent would be huge and very difficult to reverse, even with a retraction.

This.

 

[Joni]

Bad thing. It would be better if the law could crack down on both groups.

 

[DECK'ARD]

Identifying 1000 people seems a clusterfuck waiting to happen.

If they have details of public officials there's an argument for public interest and they could be properly investigated and things like voting records looked into, but that would require proper journalism.

Don't really trust Anonymous to be 'responsible and effective' here.

 

[captive]

is it really that big of a deal if they're doxing their own members?

 

[boiled goose]

I would only out people who are hypocrites passing laws (ie government officials).

If not, it seems like a way to ruin a ton of lives including some innocent ones.

 

[massoluk]

They named a bunch of Senators and Mayors earlier like Thomas Tillis and John Cornyn, surprised it didn't become a bigger news then.

 

[Storm Raider]

How could you join the KKK knowing what they've done and what they're about?

I don't understand. Is racism a mental retardation?

Spoiler

Seriously

 

[Gordon Shumway]

Ok..

 

[Somnid]

This is not a good thing. If they wanted to do this they should find a few high profile targets and gather substantive evidence.

 

[phanphare]

I can't really support this..

having said that they don't need my support so I anxiously await to see how this plays out

 

[Envelope]

Cool. Racists don't deserve privacy At all honestly.

might as well just execute them now tbh

 

[PartTimeWarrior]

I'm not a fan of this

 

[Bad_Boy]

Until you find out they exist in the police force, DA office, on the bench, politicians. I already don't feel confident in the police already, but to find out that KKK members are sprinkled within will make it worse. Those are the only reveals I care about.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/14/florid-police-kkk/12645555/

this is how i feel.

 

[JDSN]

Yeah, people unrelated to this are gonna get hurt.

 

[Spehornoob]

Can't support it. Even shitty people have a right to privacy, and vigilantism in general just isn't the way. Not to mention how likely it is that someone innocent is gonna get named.

 

[entremet]

Can't cosign this. Not a fan of these type of witch hunts due to the collateral damage involved.

And there's always collateral damage.

 

[The Jackdog]

Can't cosign this. Not a fan of these type of witch hunts due to the collateral damage involved.

And there's always collateral damage.

i have no idea what side of this im on so lemme play devils advocate.

could it be argued that joining the KKK and becoming a prominent member in itself is enough to ensure collateral damage to the people around you?

 

[SpaceWolf]

could it be argued that joining the KKK and becoming a prominent member in itself is enough to ensure collateral damage to the people around you?

Free speech, brother.

 

[Lunar15]

Remember that time internet vigilantes tracked down who they thought was the Boston marathon bomber? That worked out great.

 

[andycapps]

I'm all for this if it's run through an outlet with some journalistic experience. I don't trust anonymous to properly vet the data they've obtained. I expect innocent people will be caught up in the lulz and have their lives temporarily thrown into disarray.

This.

 

[televator]

Don't fear hurting a racist's feelings. They have no feelings. They're subhuman.

 

[massoluk]

could it be argued that joining the KKK and becoming a prominent member in itself is enough to ensure collateral damage to the people around you?

Fair enough point. Everyone lose.