Black Lives Matter, Anonymous, Trump Back at the Forefront of Political Unrest
As President Trump threatens to deploy the military against those protesting over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, the Anonymous hacker collective would appear to have come out in support of the protests with a threat to publish Trump's dirty laundry. But appearances can sometimes be deceptive. On May 15, I reported that a group of hackers known as REvil had claimed to have dirty laundry on President Trump following a ransomware attack on a New York law firm. Data exfiltration, along with encryption, being something of a trademark of this cybercriminal operation. To leverage payment of a $42 million (£33.5 million) ransom demand, REvil said it would make this information public.
The apparent emergence of the Anonymous hacktivist collective after several years out of the media spotlight was reported on May 31 by Zak Doffman. This came in the form of a video in which someone claiming to speak for Anonymous threatened to expose the "many crimes" of the Minneapolis Police Department to the world. The apparent emergence of the Anonymous hacktivist collective after several years out of the media spotlight was reported on May 31 by Zak Doffman. This came in the form of a video in which someone claiming to speak for Anonymous threatened to expose the "many crimes" of the Minneapolis Police Department to the world.
Now, another supposed Anonymous affiliate Twitter account has posed the question: "Should we leak more info on Trump?" That group operates under the AnonNewz account on Twitter. There remains some doubt as to whether there really is anything new to leak. Indeed, it has already been suggested that previously leaked information has included Trump's telephone number which turned out to be the number for a recorded campaign message dating back to August 2015.
Indeed, it has already been suggested that previously leaked information has included Trump's telephone number which turned out to be the number for a recorded campaign message dating back to August 2015.
And there lies the rub, just as was the case with the REvil ransomware hackers, there appears to be precisely zero evidence of any actual Trump dirty laundry data to publish. It's not as if it's even possible to ask Anonymous for some proof, as Anonymous is a decentralized movement rather than an organization. There is no official spokesperson to contact, there are no official Twitter accounts and until REvil or any of the "Anonymous" affiliates publish something concrete and credible, it has to be assumed there is no Trump dirty laundry.
As someone calling himself the Portly Pundit aptly tweeted: "defecate or abandon the commode." Facebook is donating $10 million to groups fighting racial inequality as mass protests sweep across the United States after an unarmed black man died at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
"We stand with the black community," CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a Facebook post late Sunday, adding the Silicon Valley tech firm to a growing list of compa
nies that have responded to the protests with condemnations of racism, calls for solutions to the escalating discord in the country and promises to address diversity and inclusion at their businesses. Twitter, Nike, Netflix, Disney and other firms have also weighed in. Zuckerberg added, though, that Facebook needs to do more to keep people safe and avoid promoting bias as it faces scrutiny for how it is handling online discussion of the protests. "I know that $10 million can't fix this," he said, for almost a week throughout the United States after a former Minneapolis police officer was seen kneeling on George Floyd's neck in a video. The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired after the incident. Chauvin has since been charged with third-degree murder — but protesters are calling for stronger punishment, as well as charges for the other three police officers who were involved.
The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired after the incident. Chauvin has since been charged with third-degree murder — but protesters are calling for stronger punishment, as well as charges for the other three police officers who were involved.
Many say that Floyd's passing has highlighted the unequal treatment of African Americans across the country. Over the last few days, some of the protests have become violent, with demonstrators starting fires and looting local businesses. In response, at least 40 cities have announced curfews, pleading with protesters to go home. Zuckerberg said in his post that he and his wife, Priscilla, have been supporting organizations working against bias in the criminal justice system for years, committing around $40 million annually to them. But he also said the company must do more. To help in this fight, I know Facebook needs to do more to support equality and safety for the black community through our platforms," Zuckerberg said, adding that he was "grateful" that video of Floyd's encounter with police was posted on Facebook "because we all needed to see that."
"But it's clear Facebook also has more work to do to keep people safe and ensure our systems don't amplify bias," he said. Unlike Twitter (TWTR), for example, Facebook (FB) has not affixed any warning label to posts by President Donald Trump that threatened "looting" in Minneapolis would lead to "shooting." Zuckerberg has said his company "read it as a warning about state action, and we think people need to know if the government is planning to deploy force."
Twitter, meanwhile, recently added the "#BlackLivesMatter" slogan to its official bio, and on Sunday presented a list of accounts for users to hear more from "marginalized groups."
"Diversify your feed," it suggested in a tweet. The company earlier this year pledged to have under-represented minorities make up a quarter of its US workforce by 2025.
