Anonymous, Reddit win people’s choice vote in Time 100 Poll

PanARMENIAN.Net - Anonymous, a global, loosely knit hacker collective made infamous by a series of high-profile data breaches, information leaks and website takedowns, has won the people’s choice vote in the Time 100 Poll, Mashable reports.

The poll asked Internet users to vote for the year’s most influential individuals spanning a range of fields and professions, from politics to entertainment.

Anonymous was trailing in the poll up until the last 24 hours of voting. By midday Thursday, April 5, the organization had received approximately 40,000 “yes” votes; by the time the poll closed at 5 pm. ET Friday, it had accumulated 395,000, causing some observers to speculate that Anonymous was rigging the results.

Time did not find any evidence of foul play.

Erik Martin, general manager of Reddit, came in second with 264,000 yes votes, followed by Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat, India, with 257,000.

The voting round for the magazine’s 100 most influential people may be over. But the final list - which will be determined by Time’s editors, not a popular vote - will be announced April 17.