Normally the "countdown" website pieces we bring to readers are more entertaining that anything, but this latest countdown is in no way "entertainment" because as I say in my video below, there is NOTHING entertaining about Islamic extremist terrorists entering the satirical publishing house of Charlie Hebdo and murdering 12 people.
This countdown site has no keys to decode, no secret pages or hidden images (yet!) and does not appear to be a publicity stunt. The website at www.opcharliehebdo.com, shows what is commonly associated as a symbol for Islam (Google images here). As of writing this article the countdown is at 1 day, 12 hours, 44 minutes and counting down. It counts down to 8am GMT on Sunday, 11 January.
My first thought was Charlie Hebdo's vow to publish their weekly with a march larger than usual print of 1 million copies, but according to The Guardian, that won't be until next Wednesday, so that is out.
We go over the Whois information for the website domain in the video below as well as speculation from IBT.UK about this possibily having something to do with the hacker group Anonymous, which has vowed retaliation against the Charlie Hebdo attackers:
The website has appeared at the same time as a Belgian faction of Anonymous released a statement through Twitter declaring it will avenge the attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo by rendering jihadist websites inaccessible.
"Anonymous must remind every citizens that the press's freedom is a fundement of the democracy [sic]," the statement reads. "Opinions, speech, newspaper articles without threats nor pressure, all those things are rights you can't change."
So, what do you all think? Anonymous countdown to retaliation or something more ominous, perhaps by Islamic extremists groups? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
