Anonymous is very probably (edit: at this point) just a cover for some totally centralized, authoritarian actions. At best, they are useful idiots for centralized powers.[0]
Acceptance of that ascription is admittance of not having understood Anonymous at all.
Anonymous isn't a cover because Anonymous isn't anything. If someone says Anonymous did XYZ, or Anonymous is XYZ, and you accept it, you've failed to do your homework in verifying your sources. (Because there is no source for a statement like that that could be verified.)
The crux of Anonymous is that it is by its own nature undelineated and conceptually undefined. At best, it is a label for a rough set of ideas, in continuous flux, but even that is questionable. Anything that calls itself Anonymous might as well be Anonymous. Since the label has no meaning, adopting it (or ascribing it) has none either.
Does that mean there are no authoritarian actors on 4chan? No. Does that mean there are no "Anonymous" actions that are authoritarian in setup? No. But does it follow that anyone has any kind of control over "Anonymous": No. There is nothing to control. You can't control a label.
If you genuinely want to understand the phenomenon of Anonymous, you need to study semiotics (and the somewhat ill-reputed field of memetics.) I can't quite recommend any authors anymore, it's been a long time since I spent any academic thought on it. Maybe look for generic introductions into these fields.
As of 2024, any sponsored social media campaign by corporate actors, for example, can don the Guy Fawkes mask and claim popular support.
I see this on a daily basis on social media. Quite often the group calling itself "Anonymous Collective" or somesuch appears to be big oil, spouting anti-government rhetoric. The real Anonymous would point out corporate levers behind governmental acts, etc.
we are the people. we do not forgive and we do not forget. we are anonymous, and we have no structure or controls.
fear us. because you cannot control us at all.
also there's no "us".
¹ well, except maybe mind control, or a truly orwellian control of language to eradicate ideas.
https://github.com/space-bacon/SignSystems/blob/main/Codex-o...
When I dipped into this it was through film music - an art that's full of tricks, devices, motifs and symbols to tell a story.
Check out my sign system categorization project to dive deeper.
https://github.com/space-bacon/SignSystems/blob/main/README....
The Feds took care of anyone else that mattered many years ago... Even one started a podcast about it with an FBI Agent.
I was contending the (perhaps old) notion that "anonymous" was some gang of outlaws that have a secret hideout where they plot the next parliamentary blow-up guy fawks style
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tyranny_of_Structurelessne...
These groups tend to trust each other. What they should do is suspect themselves and especially those who seem better (resources, intelligence, charisma etc) than they are. The clueless newbie who is under suspicion is often the innocent one and the one giving the answers the state agent.