DUSHANBE, November 9, 2015, Asia-Plus – International media outlets report that thousands wearing Guy Fawkes masks gathered in London and Washington DC on November 5, joined by similar protests across the globe - from Canada to Guatemala to the Netherlands.

Marchers reportedly carried placards with sayings such as "One solution, revolution" and "A for anarchy". Most were peaceful - some were not.

BBC reports that promoted by Anonymous, an international group of hacking activists, the march was a protest against corruption in power.  It coincided with Bonfire Night in the UK, which commemorates the date Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament in 1605.

Their goal, as stated on a UK Million Mask March Facebook page, was to see positive change in the world.

“We have seen the abuses and malpractice of this government, and governments before it, we have seen the encroaching destruction of many civil liberties we hold dear, we have seen the pushes to make the internet yet another part of the surveillance state, we have seen the government''s disregard for migrants, for the poor, the elderly and the Disabled, we have seen the capital, profit and greed of the few put before the well-being of the many and we say enough is enough,” the page says.

In the 1980s comic strip V for Vendetta, the main character wears a Guy Fawkes mask to battle the fascist state.  In 2006, the comic was made into a film and the plastic masks marketed to the public.  Two years later, Anonymous published a list of protest instructions, including “Cover your face. This will prevent your identification from videos taken by hostiles, other protesters or security.”  The Economist  explains, taking inspiration from the film, “the V for Vendetta mask provided just the cover that Anonymous needed.”