Anonymous: Time Line Of The Organization History

While individual cultic groups may vary in discipline (political, religious, social/philosophical), they often operate with a similar premise: the world is bad, we are good, become a part of us (Salande & Perkins, 2011). Viewing the world in this way is not, in and of itself, destructive; and many mainstream religious and political movements embrace similar philosophies (2011). However, cult leaders often reinforce these ideas in frightening ways. By making their members use hallucinogens, sleep deprivation, group sex, strict prayer rituals, and deprogramming. Deprogrammers usually used “facts” about their religious group to shake up the person’s faith, this confrontation would often transpire in intense, emotionally charged situations (Donald & Robbins, 1982). The point of this was to rid the cult member of their ego, and past beliefs. The goal was for the member to have a blank slate, they could then me made to believe whatever the cult leader wanted them to.

Today most people would tell you that the stocks, pillory and other tools of public punishment are barbaric. We’ve moved passed them, having figured out more humane ways to deal with crime. Why, then, the resurgence of public shaming, namely the mainstream acceptance of the “dox,” which, in its purest form, is the digging up of a target’s personal information—name, phone number, address, Social Security number, familial relationships, financial history—and exposing it online to encourage harassment from others? This practice has gradually been popularized by Anonymous, the amorphous collective of trolls and “hacktivists” that alternately terrorize tween girls and disable government websites.

Freedom of speech can be exemplified in many different ways, some of which are not for everyone. "The Blackplague" is an amazing collection of the most disturbing images, texts, and videos imaginable. The home page of the site is a black screen with red writing bordered by skulls. The title of the page, "The Blackplague", is dripping with blood, bordered by upside down crosses, and there is an overall very sadistic theme to the page. The site’s objectives are stated on its home page, "The Blackplague", http://www.blackplague.org, and are summarized in this quote from that page, "We provide a voice for deserving individuals and asylum for incendiary ideas that would otherwise be at the mercy of censorship and suppression". From this home page a viewer has the options of multiple links. They can link to sites hosted by the Blackplague at Web Hosting Services, "Exodus", http://www.blackplague.org/host.htm, view pictures and videos at "The Snuff Archives", http://www.blackplague.org/snuff/index.htm, view writings at "Useful Text Files", http://www.blackplague.org/texts/texts.htm, and can email the site at admin@blackplague.org. All of which, except for emailing the site, are not for the weak of heart or stomach.

The Westboro Baptist Church has long been regarded in the media as a group filled with hate and detestation for virtually anyone who does not practice their teachings. In reality, the members of the Westboro Baptist Church hold a strong belief that the messages that are portrayed through their picketing and social media websites are actually acts of love that reveal the severity of the actions that most humans partake in. Most of the members were born into the Church and therefore believe that the words they proclaim are the absolute truth. Although most Americans do not agree with the teachings and practices that the Westboro Baptist Church preaches, it is important to learn about and try to understand the various aspects of the church in

Besides friends using social media to connect with other friends or families keeping in touch with other relatives who are at a distance, in the recent years, terrorists have taken advantage of social media and used it as a platform to threaten and send jaw dropping messages to some of the most popular outlets across the nation. For this paper, I will examine how terrorists have used social media as propaganda. I will also analyze the trends in media and terrorism, and how it has provided access for the promotion of the violent messages as well as allowing the news of terrorist attacks and assassinations to reach many parts of the world within a matter of minutes.

The Westboro Baptist Church is located in Topeka, Kansas and made up of Pastor Fred Waldron Phelps, nine of his 13 children (the other four are estranged because they didn’t agree with their family), their children and spouses, and a small number of other families and individuals. Phelps has maintained tight control over the group. His estranged son Nathan says that Phelps abused his children

With most churches believing in peace and other freedoms, the Westboro Baptist Church believes in an alternate form of God, a being that is malevolent and vindictive. From this, the church pickets and protests against many modern day events, such as the gay-rights movement and overseas war funerals, in which the church responds with hateful signs such as “America is Doomed, Fags Have no Rights, God Blew Up the Troops”, and other anti-American slogans. Because of these protests, the Church is regarded internationally as being a cult, which preaches hate. Unfortunately, the First Amendment, which allows them to, protects their speech, no matter how unpopular it is. As long as the Church follows all police and protesting laws, and as long as the speech does not fall under: defamation, true threats, incitement to lawless action, or obscenity, then the Church can protest what they wish, without prosecution of the

The church of Scientology has been the subject of controversy since its inception. Its methods and beliefs have attracted the attention of scholars from around the world. The church has been under government investigation and has endured a countless amount of lawsuits (Reitman 14). It is also a hot topic by the media with several endorsements by some of the most recognized Hollywood celebrities. However, the main topic of debate regarding the Church of Scientology is its status as a religion. Some members claim that the church has helped them overcome their struggles and that they are happier people, while others condemn it as a dangerous cult (Sweeney). The church of Scientology is a religious group whose purpose is to retain their

Many people have heard of the revolutionary new religious practice called Scientology. However, the majority of people who have heard of it, have little knowledge of the principles and practices behind the religion. In fact, there is a dark side behind Scientology, and much speculation that the religion is a brainwashing cult. Many people are opposed to the religion because of its secretiveness, its extreme methods of teaching and its alleged use of mind control.

With the popularization and expansion of the internet in recent years, America and other Western countries have found themselves developing into media-dominated cultures. Social media platforms, forums, and other types of online interaction are becoming primary forms of communication between people with similar or differing views, bringing political topics into daily discussion. However, the implications of such a broad and unrestrained network lead to negative outcomes. Whether it be in the form of a direct slur used on Twitter or a slight jab in a discussion board, the ongoing presence of racism on the internet cannot be denied. Although some forms may appear more indirectly, the effects are not diminished; implicit forms of racism are just as impactful as direct attacks. This paper argues that the internet serves as a carrier of racism by allowing racism to thrive through forms of racial microaggressions and cloaked websites. Toward the end of the essay, possible solutions for this issue will be discussed as well.

It’s not unknown that The Church of Scientology has been a contentious subject of conversation for decades. The controversial religion was originally discovered by a gentleman named L. Ron Hubbard in 1954 through the establishment of ideas in which he believed would act as an antidote to mental health concerns called Dianetics. After an unsuccessful attempt resulting in bankruptcy, Hubbard branched his ideas into the basis of a new found religion called Scientology ("The Beliefs and Teachings of Scientology”). To Hubbard’s advantage, Scientology expeditiously accelerated in growth, becoming one of the fastest expanding religions in the 20th century. Scientology pledged a “light at the end of the tunnel” to those wandering through dark times, and created a pathway to a faultless understanding of one’s true spiritual fulfillment through a system of self-knowledge in relation to one’s own life, community, and mankind. Due to the Scientology’s controversial beliefs, abnormal practices, and aberrant church-member relationships, the religion poses as a superlative model of church rebelling against society’s social norms.

Raytheon’s RIOT software can pull together information about a user from multiple social media platforms to create a composite view of a user’s activities, patterns, associations and beliefs. When does this person typically log onto the computer? Are they accessing social media from work? Are they sharing politically incorrect ideas with people, and how connected are they to radical groups? Unlike Facebook’s data mining into the lives and associations of its members, RIOT draws on every social media platform – Twitter,

4chan.org is a community filled with every type of individual one could imagine, all hidden behind computer screens under anonymity. A person can say or do almost anything in one post, and then be a completely different person in the next. Obviously this would attract many deviant minded individuals who could express themselves without regret. Although 4chan is widely diverse, the majority of the social movements are aided by the “random” subcategory of the site, also known as /b/. /b/’s makeup is almost entirely teenage to middle aged Caucasian males who reside near the lower end of the economic spectrum.

Christianity is one of the largest religions to stand with more than 2.22 billion followers. However, not all Christians share the same stance on issues, whether it be political or moral. An example would be the Westboro Baptist Church; a hate group known for its hostility towards those who do not meet up to their standards, specifically members of the LGBT, Catholics, American soldiers, and Muslims. The church originally received national attention in October, 1998, for picketing the funeral of a man named Matthew Shepard who was beaten and tortured for being gay. Romaine Patterson, a friend of Shepard’s, recalled that she couldn’t take her eyes off of the neon signs that read, “God Hates Fags”, “Matt in Hell”, and “AIDS Cures Fags”. From there, the church had displayed Shepard in their memorial section on their website. The page states that the church does not support the fact he was murdered, but that they picketed in order

Now any website or web service also had to monitor and self-sensor any information from their services that might contain material that might be harmful to the state. In the same year “The Measures for Managing Internet Information Services” outlined what and how hosts should monitor Internet traffic. This document explicitly stated which forms of speech are not expectable. Any speech or information, harmful to the state, containing differing views on religion, or those that may cause disorder or lead to national disunity have been stated.