There’s no evidence anyone hacked Glenn Beck’s YouTube account lately, so it looks like Beck really is behind “Anonymous For Good,” the bizarre Anonymous-style video that got almost 11,000 views within a day of being uploaded on Jan. 24. (He also links to it on his own site.)
Mediaite identified the video—a knock-off of Anonymous videos—as a publicity stunt for Beck’s charitable organization Mercury One (though the video does not mention it).
In the video, a computerized voiceover recites a 90-second speech while words appear in white against an ominous black-on-gray imitation of Anonymous’ logo. It starts “This is a message from goodness,” and lists ominous yet vague threats from an unspecified “darkness” or “evil.”
According to the video, “evil” has “invaded our schools, ended prayer, replaced discipline, [and] humiliated our children.” It also “took over the media.” Presumably this is not an allusion to Beck’s own lucrative media career. Evil or darkness has even “slipped into our homes and destroyed our families.”
The unnamed “We” narrating the video is fed up with such evil antics, and says, “We will no longer sit idley [sic] by” while evil runs rampant.
The video is probably supposed to inspire in its viewers a fear of evil and the desire for action against it, but the Internet response suggests it’s mostly generating lulz.
Slacktory posted it under the headline “HAHAHAHA WHAT” and over the commentary “Why would you bring this upon yourself, Glenn Beck? I mean it’s awesome that you did but how”
Commenters on Beck’s YouTube account responded with the thoughtful insight for which YouTube comments are famous. One of Beck’s detractors observed, “FUCK YOU GLEN BECK YOU FUCKING CANCERNEWFAG,” while a Beck supporter later wrote “Dear liberal trolls, Get a life or stand for something positive the way Glenn Beck chooses to. You people are pathetic and will destroy yourselves. Have a good time.”
Meanwhile, the Twitterverse was mostly a-titter. The original Anonymous tweeted its response to Beck: “Glenn Beck Rips Off #Anonymous In New Video | << bwahahaha!!!,” and “Anonyphant” asked: “is anyone opposed to me quietly trademarking anon symbols so we can sue the fuck out [of] beck next time? #kidding”
DiabloAnon reported that “the #Lulz overload crashed Firefox the first time I tried watching it.”
Eugeniedfranval shared the video and suggested, “Somebody needs a bitch slap.”
Dunkalunk said of Beck “Either he’s lost it more than usual or …”
And EpicWinBook, which calls itself “A blog about 4chan, Anonymous and You,” dubbed Beck’s video an “Epic win for anonymous.”
