The Million Mask March, also known as "Operation Vendetta", is a worldwide, annual protest associated with the hacktivist group Anonymous occurring annually on Guy Fawkes Day, 5 November. The motive for the March varies, but includes some consistent themes prevalent in the Anonymous movement, including: corruption in politics, demilitarization, police violence, and self-governance. The marches are set in motion to allow ordinary citizens to collaborate in order to create societal change through alterations to their governments. They are coordinated through a host of channels with most prevalent being word of mouth and social media. Hundreds of Facebook events and dedicated Twitter accounts are used to advertise the protest around the world.
History
Anonymous, originally a group of internet forum users, first came into political activism from its battle against Scientology, referred to as Project Chanology. This culminated in a worldwide protest outside of Scientology churches across the globe. The first Million Mask March occurred in 2012; the largest events occurred in London and Washington, DC, with smaller scale events across the globe, usually outside of government buildings. The 2015 protests spanned over 650 cities.
Symbolism
Protesters at the Million Mask March, frequently wear versions of the Guy Fawkes mask, in homage to the graphic novel ‘V for Vendetta’. The costume references the novel, where the protagonist wages war against an authoritarian dystopia in the UK. In the film rendition, millions of masks are disbursed to citizens who gather around the parliament.
Events
London, UK: The march has become an annual occurrence in London. Protesters marched through central London on 5 November 2015 in protest of the manner in which the British government conducts surveillance on the country, the corruption that has become ingrained in government, and the State's socio-economic issues. During the 2016 protest, 53 protesters were arrested during the march through Central London which were related to drug use, destruction of property and other criminal activity.
Manila, Philippines: Activists linked to the hacktivism group Anonymous crashed 30 of the Filipino government's websites in response to the corruption felt toward politicians. The group released a video apologizing to the people of the Philippines for the disruption and courting them to protest in front of the parliament house on 6 November 2013.
