There are many who might permit themselves a wry smile at the panic-stricken attitude over the past few hours of spokesmen (many self-appointed) for Anonymous, the controversial Hackers’ Group.

The Group has been forced to deny that they have no plans, positively no plans whatsoever, to hack into and take down Facebook on 28th January, as reported in Mashable by a gullible reporter this morning following the release of a video to Youtube yesterday. The video was claimed to have been released in the name of the hacker network, as if this was some sort of discovered Bin Laden video tape from a cave in the mountains.

“An online war has begun between Anonymous, the people and the government of the United States. While SOPA and PIPA may be postponed from Congress, this doesn’t guarantee that our Internet rights will be upheld.”

It goes on to suggest that Facebook had been rather late into the SOPA/PIPA protest earlier this month in which Wikipedia, Reddit and others distinguished themselves by leading from the front.

Facebook had stated its support for the SOPA/PIPA action but had contributed a statement and troops rather late. It certainly attracted a few disparaging comments about its tardiness and perceived half-heartedness.

But why would Anonymous want to damage Facebook? They are on the same side aren’t they? The hoax includes an obliging statement apparently from Anonymous that the hackers regard them essentially as the US government online.

But there is a vicarious pleasure to be gained in seeing the reputation of Anonymous temporarily and unfairly traduced. And still more in reading the increasingly urgent denials by the group and its acolytes on Twitter and elsewhere in the past few hours.

The original false article has been retweeted over 2,500 times in the first six hours of its existence despite a comments list dominated by writers pointing out that the story is false,

Certainly a case of The Biter Bit. And it’s not such a bad thing for the group to be brought up to face up to the occasional unfairness caused by its own actions. It’s all healthy, even if it is an own medicine that is being tasted.