Tipsheet

ISIS Twitter Accounts Hacked To Have Gay Pride Flags

It's hardly a big secret that radical Islamic ideology isn't too friendly to the LGBT population. So, naturally, in a bit of amusing online activism, hacktivist collective Anonymous hacked a bunch of ISIS-linked Twitter accounts and replaced their photos with rainbow flags, photoshopped images, and links to gay pornography.

The hacker, who goes by the name WachulaGhost, said that he did it to honor the 49 people who were murdered at Pulse nightclub by a man who pledged support to ISIS. He claimed to have hacked about 200 accounts.

“I did it for the lives lost in Orlando,” the hacker tells Newsweek. “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.”

WauchulaGhost does not disclose his real name or exact location, other than to say he is based in the United States and that “shit is getting too close to home.”

The vigilante hacker claims to have taken over 200 Twitter accounts belonging to ISIS supporters. However, many have since been taken down by Twitter. WauchulaGhost plans to continue the campaign with two other hackers who go by the name Ebony and Yeti.

ISIS has used social media, especially Twitter to help recruit people to join up. There are communities of ISIS supporters on Tumblr as well.