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Daniela Slezakova: http://thelossthegain.wordpress.com/

The connection between childhood obesity and the media is often blamed on irresponsible parents. However, Daniela recognizes other underlying issues that we are not being told about by the media. She shows great cases when a government is trying to deal with a problem by ignoring it.

Lucy Balčák: http://mediasocietyandeatingdisorders.webs.com/

This blog is dealing with a similar problem and that is how the media impacts the creation of eating disorders. Lucy demonstrates how the image of a perfect body type is being shown to us all over again and how cruelly can those not matching this ideal be treated. On the other hand, Lucy shows some positive influences of the media as well.

Nino Zalkaliani: http://ninozalkaliani.blogspot.cz/

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Back to Athens: An Opinion

The idea of people governing themselves directly was the basis of the Athenian democracy. This system, however, would be unimaginable to function today. Because of that, we elect representatives, who get a free hand in how to act and the worst thing that could happen to them, if they do not fulfill the expectations of their voters is, that they do not get reelected. And so it happened, that people became more and more disconnected from politics to the extent that some people can live their whole lives absolutely oblivious to it and accepting whatever is going on. Mostly, this is the consequence of them feeling, that they cannot make a change, that they do not matter. 

But why should we not be able to have a say into how politicians act? Why should they be given so much freedom to decide about matters, that affect our lives everyday? Could there be a system, where people would act as a watchdog over politicians? We live in a world, where technological advance makes it much easier to get involved and connect with each other than ever before.

At this point I get to the question of the main idea behind Anonymous. They proved in many cases, that if a huge number of people stick together and act, they can achieve their goals. People are the main source of power to politicians, so why not claim this power and demand our government to serve us, rather than us serving them.

Power tends to be the source of the biggest evil, especially when it is concentrated in the hands of a few. People need to take charge of their lives again. A government is a necessity for a proper function of the society, so for it to act productively, people cannot be involved directly in every issue, but they should not be excluded and opressed either. A group like Anonymous is a great opportunity to get involved without feeling powerless and showing, that we can fight for our rights. The key is to find balance without either side opressing the other.

Further Information

Anonymous is a constantly discussed topic in the media, as they react to many current events happening all around the world. Opinions on them change with every new operation they carry out and every case they get involved in. To follow up on more stories and operations, recent, or older ones, I recommend to visit
http://www.anonoperations.com 
http://www.new-world-order-plan.org or http://thehackernews.com/search/label/Anonymous%20Hackers
Furthermore, information can be found daily on Anonymous twitter accounts, for example https://twitter.com/YourAnonNews. 
In January 2012, a documentary film, directed by Brian Knappenberger was released. It features the full story of Anonymous, their values, goals and major operations. The film's name is We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists and is available to watch for free on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyB0bFLxsqk
These sources, however are connected with the Anonymous' point of view, therefore, to get a more critical approach on them, I recommend to follow various news portals, because as I have mentioned before, each journalist has a certain amount of bias, either for or against the group, so it is important to get more views on any Anonymous operation.

The Anonymous Group: Love It Or Loathe It

The issues surrounding the notorious hactivist group Anonymous tend to be controversial and it is often debated, whether their actions are justifiable or contemptible. The supporters of the group persistently claim that the group is the biggest fighter for democracy and their protests are the best way to achieve justice, when public officials fail to do so, in a non-violent way. On the other hand, people, who are not so fond of the collective, tend to point out, that these protests cause more harm than good. Many times the group interferes with various international affairs, but the question is: are they doing, what the people of the country really want themselves, or are they trying to enforce a single ideology that they decide is the best? According to Georgi Ivanov, “Anonymous have become a force in cyberpolitics“, which is a valid definition, as what they do does not vary much from politics, only it does not work on a diplomatic basis, but a basis of threat and often raises a question, whether their actions should be considered lawful.

The group targets any organization, government, or church, where it discovers, that democratic and liberal principles have been violated. Some of the biggest targets have been the Westboro Baptist Church and the Church of Scientology. The former is well known for the spread of hateful messages, while the latter, they claim, has bullied its opposers and former members, who turned their backs on them. Anonymous brought down both of the organizations’ web pages to demonstrate their disagreement. Other major operations involved hacking governmental websites of Uganda, as they opposed the intolerant treatment of lesbians and gays in the country; Israel, because they believed, that people of Palestine and Gaza need protection from Israel’s territorial ambitions; and North Korea after it made threats of nuclear war to South Korea, Japan and the USA. 

However, people opposing the Anonymous raise legitimate arguments to how their actions could backfire. One of these arguments is, that because part of many operation is the release of personal data of government officials, criminals but also innocent citizens, who just happen to be collateral damage, it could put their lives at risk. It happened in the past, for example in the case of Amanda Todd, a cyberbullied schoolgirl, that Anonymous accused the wrong person, who then received numerous hateful messages. Also, because Anonymous usually gives ultimatums to their targets, which are often unrealistic, there is no space for any negotiations before they attack multiple websites, which can cause great damage. Lastly, often articles appear in the press, where it is reported, that Anonymous does not cause as much trouble, as they claim and take false credit for their actions, while these actions encourage crowds to trust the group. 

Whether the cyberattacks of the group end up being successful, or not, it is a fact that by pointing out issues in our society, the Anonymous raises awareness about many serious problems. The media, just like the public, seems to give contradictory opinions on the group, however, it is necessary to keep critical in spite of the beautified and magnificent goals that are presented to us by the members of Anonymous.

Sources:

Armstrong, Michael. "8 Things That Anonymous, The Hacker 'Terrorist' Group, Has Done For Good | Strong Blogs." Web log post. Strong Blogs. N.p., 30 Apr. 2013. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://strongblogs.com/8-things-that-anonymous-the-hacker-terrorist-group-has-done-for-good/>.

Ivanov, Georgi. "What Is Anonymous? Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About the Shadowy Internet Group." PolicyMic. N.p., Feb. 2013. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://www.policymic.com/articles/23922/anonymous-everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-the-shadowy-internet-group>

"Anonymous: The Secret Group's 5 Biggest Hacks." The Week. The Week, 7 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://theweek.com/article/index/212846/anonymous-the-secret-groups-5-biggest-hacks>.

Estes, Adam Clark. "Anonymous Hits Israel with a Massive Cyber Attack, Israel Attacks Back." Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, 08 Apr. 2013. Web. 11 May 2013. <http://news.yahoo.com/anonymous-hits-israel-massive-cyber-attack-israel-attacks-005659174.html>.

Anti-Anonymous Group Spreading Conspiracy Theories?

Whenever a major news story hits the media, Anonymous seems to be there, making a statement, or trying to set things right, if they go wrong. So it is not surprising to see them mentioned in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings. However, rumours have been spreading, that the group was actually backing the attack. Anonymous posted a video message denying having any role in the bombings and promising to find the real attackers. It is not clear, where did the false message appear first, but it has been put in connection with a group opposing the Anonymous and is trying to shift the blame on them to damage their reputation. Are we getting to the times of cyberwars? A group, opposing another group, releasing false information; where is this going to end? How are people ever going to be able to trust any information they get?

Liz Harrison, writing for Conservative Daily News is rather skeptical about either of the groups saying, that there is just another of them to handle. According to her, they should be dealt with like "a couple cobras in a pen together – let them fight it out, see which one survives".

Source:

Harrison, Liz. "Anonymous, the Boston Marathon Bombing, and Conspiracy Theories."Conservative Daily News. N.p., 17 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 May 2013. <http://www.conservativedailynews.com/2013/04/anonymous-the-boston-marathon-bombing-and-conspiracy-theories/>.

Anonymous Doing Justice?

Internet's Robin Hood, or cyberbullies? The opinions on the Anonymous group vary widely as their actions might be interpreted from different points of view. Anonymous took matters in their hands in the case of the cyberbullied Amanda Todd and the raped Nova Scotia girl Rehtaeh Parsons after both of the girls comitted suicide and the authorities were unable to act on it and punish the offenders.

But however genuine their reason might seem, they might have gone too far. In the case of Amanda Todd, the Anonymous blamed the wrong person for the bullying, which resulted in him getting numerous derogatory and threatening messages.

After the death of the 17-year old Rehtaeh Parsons, Anonymous felt they needed to step in to reveal the group of rapists, if the police failed to act. The problem is, that by doing this, they might endanger their lives as enraged people will want to serve justice on them themselves.

Is justice done by attacking the attackers? Is it doing more good or harm to expose offenders to the public so they get what they deserve? 

If everyone was to act as they please according to what they consider just, it could get our society and its proper function into danger. As an English philosopher Thomas Hobbes described in his work "Leviathan", the state of nature, where we would have no rules or boundaries would result in us living in constant fear and there would be no peace in the community.

Source:

Teitel, Emma. "The Moral Universe of Anonymous." Web log post. Maclean's. N.p., 12 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 May 2013. <http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/04/12/the-moral-universe-of-anonymous/>.

Anonymous Activist Accused of Rape

If somebody was to describe the Anonymous, expressions like "justice", "protection" and "rights" would undoubtedly appear. However, a recent event might put these values into question, as an Anonymous activist and a self-declared leader of the group in the UK, Malcolm Blackman, has been accused of raping a a woman during the Occupy London protest. Occupy London has taken place from 15 October 2011 - 14 June 2012 as an outcry againt social inequality. The protest consisted in the activists building their tents outside the London Stock Exchange, close to the St. Paul's Cathedral. There, according to the woman's testimony, Blackman raped her twice and tied her hands. Blackman denied the accusation, saying that there is no proof that a crime occured.

The press portrays the event from two viewpoints: some sources present Blackman as an innocent man, that became the victim himself and highlight the fact, that the court deemed him innocent; others, on the other hand show him as a drunk sexual abuser, that only came out of the case not guilty, because the woman could not provide sufficient evidence and she could not get justice.

The Independent provides an extract from Blackman's statement, that the woman shoved him, after he told her that he was not willing to talk about their relationship and that she was angry with him for initiating a relationship with another woman from the protesting group. Blackman comes out, according to the article, as a victim of a jealous woman seeking revenge on him.

In contrast to this, the articles by the Telegraph and the Guardian provide the woman's testimony describing the assaults and consequently her powerlessness and inability to do anything about it. The articles seem to encourage the reader to feel sorry for the woman.

One way, or another, the event is harmful to the group's reputation and could result in loss of trust of people as the morals of the individual activists seem questionable after such a case.

Sources:

"Occupy London Activist Cleared of Rape at St Paul's Camp." BBC News. BBC, 02 May 2013. Web. 09 May 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22386191>.

Raif, Shenai, and John Fahey. "Occupy London Protester Cleared of Rape in Tent at St Paul's Cathedral." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, 02 May 2013. Web. 09 May 2013. <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/occupy-london-protester-cleared-of-rape-in-tent-at-st-pauls-cathedral-8601296.html>.

Ward, Victoria. "Protester 'raped by Anonymous Activist' at Occupy London Camp, Court Hears." The Telegraph. The Telegraph, 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 May 2013. <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/10017647/Protester-raped-by-Anonymous-activist-at-Occupy-London-camp-court-hears.html>.

Walker, Peter. "Woman Raped Twice at Occupy London Protest Camp, Court Hears."The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 25 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 May 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/25/woman-raped-occupy-london-court-hears>.

Anonymous vs. North Korea

North Korea has been a vigorously discussed topic in the media for the past few months, after Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of the country, made numerous threats to its southern neighbour: South Korea, Japan and the USA of starting a nuclear war. As the tension between the countries was escalating, Anonymous decided to step in. They claim is, that they are not supporting any of the countries; their goal is to protect right of citizens and prevent loss of thousands of lives in a war. But are their goals realistic or could their plan backfire by creating even more tension by their actions?

What the group demands is for Kim Jong-un to step down, stop his nuclear ambitions, introduce free internet for the citizens as well as direct democracy. To support this message, the group hacked into multiple North Korean websites, for example their official Twitter and Flicker accounts, and a central news site Uriminzokkiri.com.

However, the press takes different stands on this attack and shows different attitudes in their articles. Furthermore, some news portals go as far as questioning, whether the attack did occur.

Caitlin Dewey reports for the Washington Post in the article "Sorry, Anonymous probably didn’t hack North Korea’s intranet", that it is very unlikely that the Anonymous has succeeded in hacking Uriminzokkiri and that "The site itself is based in China, so the leaked names do not prove Anonymous has accessed any user data from within North Korea itself or from the country’s intranets." The author's negative view of the group can be seen as she defines them as a "loosely defined collective that has dabbled in hacktivism". She mocks the group, as she writes about their demands towards North Korea and adds an sarcastic "That's all?". A similar tone is apparent in the NBC News article, which is attempting to proove that the attack did not happen.

The Huffington Post gives more credit to the group and describes the circumstances of the attack. On the other hand, Michael Rundle ends his article with a statement, that the cyber activity "is said to be further destabilising the region." It sounds as a daring claim, but rather difficult to prove.

Sources:

Dewey, Caitlin. "Sorry, Anonymous Probably Didn’t Hack North Korea’s Intranet." The Washington Post. The Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 May 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/04/04/sorry-anonymous-probably-didnt-hack-north-koreas-intranet/>.

Choney, Suzanne. "Anonymous Claims It Stole 15,000 User Records from North Korea Site." NBC News. NBC News, 2 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 May 2013. <http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/anonymous-claims-it-stole-15-000-user-records-north-korea-1C9178147>.

Rundle, Michael. "Anonymous Launch New Assault On North Korea, Claiming Insiders' Help." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 15 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 May 2013. <http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/15/anonymous-launch-new-assault-north-korea_n_3083033.html>.

Welcome

We live in a world of digital media, surrounded by technology daily. We get our news, study and work online. But is internet a safe environment where we can feel free to share private information and exchange confidential messages with other people? I am certain, that the notion of hacking is not unfamiliar to the most of you. Hackers seek weaknesses in the function of a computer system and break into those. Hackers are typical for their advanced knowledge about computers and networks. There are various kinds of hackers, however i am going to focus on a particular group, which are the so-called "hacktivists". Hacktivists are hackers, who use their skills to communicate a certain social, political, religious or ideological message and target relevant websites to get this message through. The best known hacktivist group is the Anonymous. They can be distinguished by wearing Guy Fawkes masks and they label themselves as anarchic and leaderless. So the questions we need to ask are: is this a group of fighters against opression or a threat to the society? Can these cyberattacks be justified? How does the public view them and how is this perception influenced by their portrayal in the media?