On October 28, Anonymous announced to the world it would be “outing” 1,000 prominent Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members. And upon review of this “comprehensive” list, it’s completely bogus.
The data dump hit PasteBin on Sunday evening. Monday morning there were four listings with 57 numbers and 23 emails. Supposedly it was released by Amped Attacks, but he denies his involvement.
Now why is this list wrong? Well, for starters, one of the KKK “members” listed is Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero. Madeline Rogero is from a multiracial family for starters. She’s launched an initiative to reduce violence among “men of color” and has pushed hard for LGBT rights.
Needless to say, this makes the list dodgy at best.
Many of the prominent “members” of the list have vehemently denied that their are tied to the KKK via social media and press. And rightfully so. The list has many names that don’t make sense.
On top of this, the twitter account associated with the project distanced itself from the attack and denied their involvement.
#ICYMI #OpKKK was in no way involved with today's release of information that incorrectly outed several politicians https://t.co/M1ltrb2P0B
— Operation KKK (@Operation_KKK) November 2, 2015
Patricia Aiken was interviewed by Gawker’s Kate Knibbs and her case illustrates how easy it get put on a KKK mailing list by someone who doesn’t like you:
“This was done by a high-ranking employee at a jail to harass a union member,” Aiken told me. That employee, Aiken alleges, is Kirk Eady, the former Deputy Director of the Hudson County Correctional Center. Eady is currently on the other side of the bars. He was convicted for wiretapping Aiken… In the sentencing transcript, the prosecutor links Eady to the KKK prank on Murray: “There was the testimony about Mr. Murray being signed up for the KKK, and how Mr. Murray didn’t sign up for the KKK, and there was evidence put forth that suggested that was Mr. Eady.”
While the released information might not be from @Operation_KKK, the list is obviously a dud.
