Skip to content
9781137275745 13

9781137275745 13

link.springer.com • October 20, 2026

Once used exclusively to refer to people who staged fearsome Internet pranks, today the name “Anonymous” belongs to many individuals and groups engaging in diverse genres of collective action, ranging from online stunts and political campaigns to expediting in-person protests. Their interventions have included protesting the Church of Scientology, hacking into servers to scour for politically worthwhile information to leak, and providing technological support for citizens in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya during the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Starting from 10 chapters or articles per month

Access and download chapters and articles from more than 300k books and 2,500 journals

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

Logics and Legacy of Anonymous

Logics and Legacy of Anonymous

Reconsidering Anonymity and Anonymous in the Age of Narcissism

Anderson, C. (2011). “Spotlights and Shadows Revisted: The Case of Julian Assange”, The New Everyday /Cluster Politics in the Age of Secrecy and Transparency /tne/pieces/spotlights-and-shadows-revisited-case-julian-assange Google Scholar

Anderson, C. (2011). “Spotlights and Shadows Revisted: The Case of Julian Assange”, The New Everyday /Cluster Politics in the Age of Secrecy and Transparency /tne/pieces/spotlights-and-shadows-revisited-case-julian-assange

Brunton, F. (2011). “After Wikileaks, Us”, The New Everyday /Cluster Politics in the Age of Secrecy and Transparency, /tne/pieces/after-wikileaks-us Google Scholar

Brunton, F. (2011). “After Wikileaks, Us”, The New Everyday /Cluster Politics in the Age of Secrecy and Transparency, /tne/pieces/after-wikileaks-us

Coleman, E. G. (2011). “Hacker Politics and Publics”, Public Culture , 23(3), 511–516 Article Google Scholar

Coleman, E. G. (2011). “Hacker Politics and Publics”, Public Culture , 23(3), 511–516

Article Google Scholar

Coleman, E. G. (2012). “Our Weirdness Is Free, The logic of Anonymous — online army, agent of chaos, and seeker of justice”, Triple Canopy , 15, /15/our_weirdness_is_free Google Scholar

Coleman, E. G. (2012). “Our Weirdness Is Free, The logic of Anonymous — online army, agent of chaos, and seeker of justice”, Triple Canopy , 15, /15/our_weirdness_is_free

DeCerteau, M. (1980). The Practice of Everyday Life Berkeley: University of California Press Google Scholar

DeCerteau, M. (1980). The Practice of Everyday Life Berkeley: University of California Press

Deseriis, M. (2012). “Improper names: Collective pseudonyms and multiple-use names as minor processes of subjectivation”, Subjectivity , 5(2), 140–160 Article Google Scholar

Deseriis, M. (2012). “Improper names: Collective pseudonyms and multiple-use names as minor processes of subjectivation”, Subjectivity , 5(2), 140–160

Article Google Scholar

Gitlin, T. (2003). The Whole World is Watching: Mass Media in the Making and Unmaking of the New Left . Berkeley: University of California Press Google Scholar

Gitlin, T. (2003). The Whole World is Watching: Mass Media in the Making and Unmaking of the New Left . Berkeley: University of California Press

Knuttila L. (2011). “User Unknown: 4chan, Anonymity and Contingency”, First Monday , 16(10), /htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3665/3055

Knuttila L. (2011). “User Unknown: 4chan, Anonymity and Contingency”, First Monday , 16(10), /htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/3665/3055

Norton, Q. (2012). “In Flawed, Epic Anonymous Book, the Abyss Gazes Back”, Wired/Threat Level, f/threatlevel/2012/06/anonymous-parmy-olson-review/all/ Google Scholar

Norton, Q. (2012). “In Flawed, Epic Anonymous Book, the Abyss Gazes Back”, Wired/Threat Level, f/threatlevel/2012/06/anonymous-parmy-olson-review/all/

Olson, P. (2012). We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency . New York: Little Brown Google Scholar

Olson, P. (2012). We Are Anonymous: Inside the Hacker World of LulzSec, Anonymous, and the Global Cyber Insurgency . New York: Little Brown

Phillips, W. (forthcoming). “The House That Fox Built: Anonymous, Spectacle and Cycles of Amplification”, Television and New Media , /content/early/2012/08/27/1527476412452799.abstract?rss=1

Phillips, W. (forthcoming). “The House That Fox Built: Anonymous, Spectacle and Cycles of Amplification”, Television and New Media , /content/early/2012/08/27/1527476412452799.abstract?rss=1

Polletta, F. (1999). “Free Spaces in Collective Action”. Theory and Soctety , 28, 1–38 Article Google Scholar

Polletta, F. (1999). “Free Spaces in Collective Action”. Theory and Soctety , 28, 1–38

Article Google Scholar

Wesch, M. (2011). “Anonymous, Anonymity, and the End(s) of Identity and Groups Online: Lessons from ‘the First internet-Based Superconsciousness”, in Whitehead, N and Wesch, M. (eds), Human No More: Digital Subjectivities, Unhuman Subjects, and the End of Anthropology . Boulder: University of Colorado Press Google Scholar

Wesch, M. (2011). “Anonymous, Anonymity, and the End(s) of Identity and Groups Online: Lessons from ‘the First internet-Based Superconsciousness”, in Whitehead, N and Wesch, M. (eds), Human No More: Digital Subjectivities, Unhuman Subjects, and the End of Anthropology . Boulder: University of Colorado Press

Gabriella Coleman View author publications author on: PubMed Google Scholar

author on: PubMed Google Scholar

Editors and Affiliations

Department of Journalism, City University, London, UK Benedetta Brevini ( Lecturer in Media Policy ) ( Lecturer in Media Policy )

Department of Journalism, City University, London, UK

Benedetta Brevini ( Lecturer in Media Policy ) ( Lecturer in Media Policy )

School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University, UK Arne Hintz ( Lecturer ) ( Lecturer )

School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University, UK

Arne Hintz ( Lecturer ) ( Lecturer )

Department of Communication, University of Ottawa, Canada Patrick McCurdy ( Assistant Professor ) ( Assistant Professor )

Department of Communication, University of Ottawa, Canada

Patrick McCurdy ( Assistant Professor ) ( Assistant Professor )

Copyright information

Coleman, G. (2013). Anonymous and the Politics of Leaking. In: Brevini, B., Hintz, A., McCurdy, P. (eds) Beyond WikiLeaks. Palgrave Macmillan, London.

DOI :

DOI :

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, London

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, London

Print ISBN : 978-1-137-27573-8

Print ISBN : 978-1-137-27573-8

Online ISBN : 978-1-137-27574-5

Online ISBN : 978-1-137-27574-5

eBook Packages : Palgrave Media & Culture Collection Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

eBook Packages : Palgrave Media & Culture Collection Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

Anonymous Participant

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Extracted Entities

Countries (3)