Anonymous #OpParis: Hacktivists resort to 'Rickrolling' Isis in fight against terrorism

Anonymous has begun a campaign to Rickroll Islamic State (Isis) supporters as part of Op Paris (#OpParis). The hacktivists called on web users to post the 1987 Rick Astley song "Never Gonna Give You Up" alongside popular hashtags used by IS supporters on Twitter.

The campaign follows an online poll posted by Anonymous's @OpParisOfficial Twitter account last week, which asked what spam action users would like to take against IS hashtags. The overwhelming winner after more than 4,000 votes were cast was "Rick roll 'em".

The internet trend of Rickrolling usually involves a bait and switch, whereby a hyperlink purporting to be something else leads to Rick Astley's hit video. The first hashtag to be targeted as part of the Anonymous Rickroll campaign is #SupportISIS.

According to those coordinating Op Paris, more than 28,000 Twitter accounts associated with IS have been shut down as part of the cyberwar campaign. Other factions of Anonymous have criticised the campaign, claiming that many of the accounts that were reported by the group had no affiliation with terrorists.

The Op Paris campaign, set up in the wake of the Paris terror attacks earlier this month, continues on from the Op Isis Anonymous campaign that has been ongoing since 2014. It is not yet clear whether or not the Rickroll campaign will significantly disrupt IS's online communications but the hacktivists have urged people to "work together" to eliminate IS from social media.

In a statement released shortly after the Paris attacks, Anonymous said: "Hello, citizens of the world. We are Anonymous. It is time to realize that social media is a solid platform for ISIS's communication as well as neutering their ideas of terror amongst youth. However, at the same time, social media has proved it is an advanced weapon.

"We must all work together and use social media to eliminate the accounts used by terrorists. ISIS, we will hunt you and take down your sites, accounts, emails and expose you. From now on, there is no safe place for you online. You will be treated like a virus, and we are the cure."