Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

Anonymous hacker drapes a rainbow flag on pro-ISIS Twitter accounts

The vigilante group claims it hacked hundreds of sites in retaliation for praise of the deadly attack on the Orlando gay nightclub.

The hactivist collective Anonymous hacked the Twitter accounts of pro-Islamic State militants, decorating them with gay pride symbols, pro-LGBT slogans and links to gay pornography in the wake of the deadly attack on an Orlando nightclub.

A hacker, who goes by the name WauchulaGhost, draped some accounts with the rainbow flag and messages like “I’m Gay and I’m Proud.” The hacker vigilante claims to have taken over 200 Twitter accounts belonging to ISIS supporters in retaliation for the group’s public praise of the mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse.

Omar Mateen, the attacker who carried out the deadly shooting, said he did so in the name of the Islamic State.

The hacker told Newsweek, “I did it for the lives lost in Orlando. Daesh [ISIS] have been spreading and praising the attack, so I thought I would defend those that were lost. The taking of innocent lives will not be tolerated.”

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

See More:

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh