Anonymous as Assembly, Association, and Assemblage

This chapter examines the intriguing digital phenomenon of Anonymous, a loosely organized (non-)collective characterized by a complex and ever-shifting identity. Originating on the controversial platform 4chan as a collective name to mark coordinated pranks, Anonymous evolved into a universal brand for activism, with symbols such as the headless suited man and the Guy Fawkes mask, as well as other component of its semiotic identity, being associated to actions and campaigns organized for the most disparate causes. Defying conventional theories of collective action and political contention, Anonymous occupies the ephemeral temporality of contingent assemblies, at the same time maintaining a recognizable semiotic identity, in this enacting the more permanent temporality of stable associations. The chapter tries to resolve this tension by embracing the complementary notions of ‘multiplicity’ and ‘assemblage’, and by arguing that the complexity and paradoxes made visible by Anonymous are implicit defining characteristics of any form of assembly.