Cyber Monday: Anonymous calls for boycott of sales and attacks on retailers in Ferguson protest
Hacking collective launched #CrashCyberMonday, as it continues Black Friday boycott
Your support helps us to tell the story
As your White House correspondent, I ask the tough questions and seek the answers that matter.
Your support enables me to be in the room, pressing for transparency and accountability. Without your contributions, we wouldn't have the resources to challenge those in power.
Your donation makes it possible for us to keep doing this important work, keeping you informed every step of the way to the November election
Andrew Feinberg
White House Correspondent
Internet activist group Anonymous today launched a project to disrupt Cyber Monday sales as part of its response to events in Ferguson.
The group, which has been leading what it calls #OpFerguson throughout the unrest in the city, has called for customers to boycott Cyber Monday. The move was backed by activists on the ground in Ferguson.
Hackers associated with the group could also launch attacks on shopping sites — many of which have already been hit by problems as a result of the huge traffic from Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales — though it was unclear what tactics the group would use as part of the operation. Chats associated with the group, and conversations on Twitter, indicated that some users who identify with the collective disagreed with the operation, and others were uncertain of what it would consist of.
Activists and those that have been demonstrating after the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson had already called on people to boycott Black Friday sales to demonstrate their feelings about the case.
Shaun King, a Twitter user who has been at the centre of coverage of Ferguson and activism around it, urged users to continue the Ferguson-related boycott of Black Friday into Cyber Monday.
“Hold out on Cyber Monday too,” he tweeted. “Don't spend a dime. Spread the word. We will be heard.”
Anonymous has been supporting the protests since their beginning, launching #OpFerguson, a semi-co-ordinated effort on social media and elsewhere.
“We are not fighting for civil liberties, a new government, or any of those things that have been fought for in the past,” the group wrote in a press release last week. “ Now we are fighting for the right of our brothers, sisters, children. We are fighting for the simple right to live.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments