A branch of Anonymous pledged to expose a secret conspiracy plan to "establish a new world order" has issued a video in support of US Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul.

The footage, published on YouTube, includes comments made over the years by the Texas congressman, who was accused by the same hacker collective last month tof having links with neo-Nazi parties in the US.

Urging Americans to vote for Ron Paul, the video concerns Paul talking "against New World Order slavery".

"This site/group is created to expose the sinister plans of the Illuminati who want to establish the New World Order. We WILL prevent this. We are Legion," reads a statement on the hacktivists' website. "This project is called 'Operation Mayhem 2012' also Project Mayhem 2012 short PM2012."

It refers to Operation Mayhem as the biggest Anonymous operation ever. It will start with a big hack attack on 5 September 2012 and finish on 12 December 2012 - another date beloved of conspiracy theorists who say that is when the world is due to end in the Mayan calendar.

According to the website, the Illuminati is a Masonic-style sect that controls the most powerful banks and financial institutions in the world. Members allegedly plan to take over the world's governments and establish a new world order through terrorist attacks.

Ron Paul's libertarian policies on the government intervention in individuals' private lives and his critical comments about the Federal Reserve during the 2008 financial crisis have perhaps provided an ideal background for the hacktivists' campaigns.

Earlier in February Anonymous hacked and defaced the website of the white supremacist American Third Position (A3P) party, claiming it had connections with Paul.

"We found a disturbingly high number of members who are also involved in campaigning for Ron Paul," the statement said.

The latest video throws a sinister light on Anonymous's apparently fragmented and ineffectual structure. The collective lets any users join and become a member or "Anon" as they refer to themselves. With the collective having no figurehead and operating with fairly autonomous members across the globe, it is near impossible for everyone connected to it to be arrested.

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