Anonymous: We Declare War on the ‘Charlie Hebdo’ Terrorists

Anonymous says that its members declare war on the terrorists who staged an attack on the Paris publication Charlie Hebdo on Jan. 7. During the attack, armed men burst into the building that houses the satirical weekly magazine and opened fire, killing twelve people, including eight journalists, four of whom were well-known cartoonists.

In a video message to jihadists, a masked Anonymous member stated that his group will shut down all social media accounts and websites of radical Muslims involved in terrorism, the Telegraph reports.

In a similar statement posted on the website Pastebin, Anonymous writes that “freedom of the press is a fundamental principle of democratic countries” and that the group’s members will avenge the deaths of those who died to protect that freedom. The Belgian branch of Anonymous warns the Muslim extremists to expect a “massive reaction” in retaliation for the murders.

Anonymous is a loosely organized group of computer hackers and activists, also called “hacktivists,” who take up where the law leaves off. They have been responsible for the shutdown of many websites, as well as Twitter and Facebook accounts.

This particular campaign is called #OpCharlieHebdo. On Twitter, posts related to the operation can be found under that hashtag. However, there seem to be some Anonymous members calling the operation a lie. Since Anonymous has no official spokesperson and no hierarchy within the organization, it is impossible to know whether the people stating the operation is false are being truthful or not. Anonymous generally does not grant many media interviews and no one person is authorized to give an official statement for all of the members.

All that is left for people to do to determine the authenticity of the video is to watch it and decide for oneself. The video appears below in French. Weigh in down in the comments section and tell us whether you think #OpCharlieHebdo is legit or not, and whether you support the Anonymous members who wish to avenge the Charlie Hebdo victims.