Sometime today, a group of men hiding behind masks will attempt to unmask other men hiding behind masks. Both groups are thought of by their supporters as righteous defenders of justice, and both are famed for their extrajudicial vigilantism and threats of violence.
I would not say that Anonymous comes anywhere near to the Ku Klux Klan in terms of moral depravity and harm inflicted upon innocent people, but I do find it chilling to consider that men in masks so often take on a vigilante role, bypassing due diligence and due process. There must be something terribly freeing about the feeling that one cannot be held accountable for one’s actions.
I fully expect that OpKKK will (like most doxxing campaigns) prove to be a moral failure, ruining innocent people and causing more harm than good. Perhaps, though, I am being overly pessimistic. Perhaps the men wearing masks modeled after a 17th century religious terrorist will prove to be both righteous and right, through and through. Time will tell.
I would ask my skeptical readers to consciously model skepticism when names do come out. Remind your interlocutors on social media that unsourced and unconfirmed accusations are not strong evidence. Remind them that the people releasing the lists face no penalties for being incorrect, they are subject to neither libel law nor editorial review. Remind them that skeptics demand evidence commensurate with the prior probability of the claim being made. And remind yourselves of this famed anonymous quote, “A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
