4chan, Anonymous working to get Julian Assange working internet
It's been a rough week for WikiLeaks leader Julian Assange, who's cooped up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London with no internet and, possibly, poisonous vegan meals trying to kill him.
SEE ALSO: Julian Assange's internet's down and everyone on Twitter has a theory
But members of 4chan and Anonymous are rallying together to get Assange the Wi-Fi he needs so that a good samaritan can stop reading him everything off of the internet.
The plan, per a report by The Next Web, is called "Operation Hot Pockets" and involves members of the notorious internet gathering around the embassy, in shifts, to create wireless hotspots so Assange can, once again, access the internet to leak emails, update his Friendster account, and do whatever else he needs to do (Instacart?).
#OpHotPockets #debate Go to the Ecuadorian embassy & provide Julian Assange Internet via mobile hotspots. He gave all for us Lets give back! pic.twitter.com/Dvbp3f3fXs
— Planet Dumb (@PlanetDumb) October 19, 2016
#OpHotPockets
We are now calling all BRITS to get their ass down to the embassy and stand around in mass, taking shifts with wifi-hotspots pic.twitter.com/Gu8tTCs2BH— 0HOUR1 (@0HOUR1__) October 19, 2016
Assange has been living in the embassy since 2012 to avoid extradition over two charges of sexual assault. Earlier this week, the Ecuadorian embassy cut off Assange's internet access, leading to an outbreak of conspiracy theories that the WikiLeaks founder was actually dead.
We can confirm Ecuador cut off Assange's internet access Saturday, 5pm GMT, shortly after publication of Clinton's Goldman Sachs speechs.
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 17, 2016
In an official statement Tuesday, the embassy said that while it stands by its decision to grant him asylum (and a home for the last four years), it doesn't interfere with foreign elections, a reference to the regular email dumps targeting the Democrats and Hillary Clinton that WikiLeaks has been putting out over the past few months.
While cutting Assange's internet may have symbolic importance, it hasn't prevented WikiLeaks from going about its business. On Thursday morning, hours after documents put out by the group became a topic at the third U.S. presidential debate, the organization released another batch of emails related to Clinton advisor John Podesta.
RELEASE: The Podesta Emails Part 13 https://t.co/wzxeh7hZLU #HillaryClinton #imWithHer #PodestaEmails #PodestaEmails13
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) October 20, 2016
The Obama administration has blamed Russian hackers for the treasure trove of documents that WikiLeaks and other sites have been releasing throughout the past few months, claiming they are an attempt to affect the outcome of the presidential election.
The administration has also promised retaliation against Russia for the hacks. On Wednesday, the FBI and Czech authorities announced the recent arrest of a Russian hacker believed to have been behind a recent LinkedIn hack, but there are no signs that hacker was associated with the more political releases.