The Brief: Some stans have chosen the hacktivist organization Anonymous as their newest object of adoration, posting their appreciation and participating in online activism.

Bluesquiggle
DEEP DIVE

Social media accounts associated with the Anonymous hacktivist collective have been growing rapidly, largely with the help of Stan Twitter. The group Anonymous, which doesn’t have an official centralized leadership, has recently been in the news for allegedly leaking documents that implicate public figures including Donald Trump in sex trafficking crimes related to Jeffrey Epstein and for hacking the Minneapolis Police Department’s website. The largest account associated with Anonymous is called @YourAnonNews on Twitter and quickly grew its follower count to over 7 million. This Anonymous resurgence is said to have long-time members of the collective involved.

Anonymous’ most recent actions have been in solidarity with protestors advocating for justice for George Floyd, the defunding of the police, and for Black Lives Matter. Online, many pre-existing groups have latched onto Anonymous’ comeback, showing support through likes, retweets,Β  social media activism, and over-the-top displays of affection.

Stanning & Simping For Anonymous

Members of Stan Twitter including the infamously vocal Barbz and KPOP stans have been posting about their newfound devotion via memes, fancams, thirst posts, and simping. This includes calling Anonymous “hot” and “daddy” and allegedly sliding into @YourAnonNews’ DM’s with nudes. This zealous and public love for Anonymous seems to be a result of a combination of dedication to the cause, ironic posting, and a desire to stan a new group.

Stans Take Real Action

Posts about how hard people stan Anonymous are embedded with jokes, but the social media power of these new stans is strong, even translating into more concrete forms of activism. As protests for Black Lives Matter and against police brutality break out around the world, stan Twitter has been mobilizing to support protestors and advocate for social change by leveraging their online platforms and clout. This includes actions like encouraging celebrities to speak out against racism, encouraging massive followings to donate funds and sign petitions, spamming police websites with fancams to prevent them from gathering information against protestors, and overtaking white supremacist hashtags to bury racist posts.

The Anonymous Twitter account @YourAnonNews has retweeted content from stans and publicly praised their support, suggesting that the two powerful internet forces: stan Twitter and Anonymous will continue working together in the future.