Hacktivist group Anonymous leads 'Time 100' poll

Guess who's leading Time magazine's 'Time 100' poll for 2012? Hacktivist group Anonymous, that's who.

 

The group was on top of the list of the magazine's most influential people of 2012, beating US President Barack Obama and Burmese freedom symbol Aung San Suu Kyi.

 

As of Saturday morning, the group, which gained fame — or notoriety — was on top, with rising basketball superstar Jeremy Lin placing ninth, Suu Kyi 14th, and Obama placing 21st on the list.

 

Time's editors will determine the final list and announce their decision on April 17.

 

But tech site Mashable earned the apparent ire of the group when it posted an article suggesting the group may have hacked its way to the top spot.

 

"(A)re those votes valid — or has Anonymous rolled out yet another hacking campaign?" it said.

 

It cited one tipster who thinks Anonymous may have indeed hacked its way to the top, claiming the group had accumulated around 14,000 votes per hour, "jumping from approximately 40,000 votes by midday Thursday to more than 380,000 votes by midday Friday."

 

Anonymous lashed out at Mashable, saying the article "is complete rubbish." 

 

"Dear @mashable, ever stop to think maybe we're leading because, (I don't know), people like us and actually VOTED for #Anonymous?" it added. — RSJ, GMA News