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The Million Mask March is a worldwide, annual protest associated with the hacktivist group Anonymous occurring annually on Guy Fawkes Day, November 5th. The motive for the March varies, but includes some consistent themes prevalent in the Anonymous movement, including: corruption in politics, demilitarization, police violence, and self-governance. The marches are set in motion to allow ordinary citizens to collaborate in order to create societal change through alterations to their governments. They are coordinated through a host of channels with most prevalent being word of mouth and social media. The Facebook group for the event marked over 18,000 Facebook users as going to the protests.
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Background
Anonymous, originally a group of internet forum users, first came into political activism from its battle against Scientology, referred to as Project Chanology. This culminated in a worldwide protest outside of Scientology churches across the globe.
The first Million Mask March occurred in 2013. Although the largest events occur in London and Washington, DC, there are smaller scale events across the globe, usually outside of government buildings.
The 2015 protests spanned over 650 cities.
On November 5th 2016, a metal band from India 'Night Wings III' released a song 'Anonymous - The Legion's Anthem' as a tribute to the Million Mask March.
Symbolism
Protesters at the Million Mask March frequently wear versions of the Guy Fawkes mask, in homage to the graphic novel ‘V for Vendetta’. The costume references the novel, where the protagonist wages war against an authoritarian dystopia in England. In the film rendition, million of masks are disbursed to citizens who gather around Parliament.