About

“Burden of Information” is full of evidence about how a stolen Facebook Page built as a shrine for cat pics became a platform to attack you, and why you don’t even know. This documentary is complete, free, and yours to own right now. Not as a reward, as a right. You deserve it, and we all deserve to know how our personal data and trust is being used, and who access to it. And to what degree? Seriously, we want to be wrong. But regardless of all those freakishly unreadable Terms Of Services, we know what we’ve seen, what we’ve heard, what we lost and endured. “Burden of Information” documents our unexpectedly brutal incident with Facebook. No one wants to believe that social networking is not only perverted to become a weird digital weapon, but that we can be accomplices ourselves. Worse, as you’ll see, those of us who try to stop it are prevented by the very institutions we entrust to protect us.

“Burden of Information” follows the ongoing tale of victims of an ambiguous, yet proven threat. Sidney Field III, Moses Burden, and the 2.4 million users linked to their (former) Facebook Page, "The FunnyPics Page". Those damn cats got them entangled in a web of deceit and stupidity that involved law enforcement, McAfee, even Microsoft and the FBI! And a seemingly incompetent Facebook.

“The FunnyPics Page” was an enormously popular Facebook Page that was created by Moses Burden, and extensively cultivated by Sid, thus becoming a major community over the span of 5 years. And then it was stolen. As you’ll see, while they tried to regain access to their account, the cat page was being prepped as a potential base to hack Facebook’s global network.

This is crazy, right? Why didn’t Sid and Moses simply enlist Facebook’s help to restore control of their account? Ah, well, they tried, and actually went to Facebook’s Campus, (have fun with that). Okay, jump ahead … Sid and Moses uncover evidence that their stolen site was being used to launch a massive cyber attack on us. And Facebook did what? Don’t worry, it’s in “Burden of Information.” Well, worry, but don’t worry that you won’t see this stuff for yourself.

“Burden of Information” presents you with the evidence. First hand accounts. All the weirdness and unexpected barriers to a simple situation that in any sane and functioning area of the internet, would be resolved via email or a phone call within 24 hours. Well, 24 hours became 102 hours, documented by Jason Nower.

So what was Facebook’s role in this major theft and violation of any users’ trust? An astonishing apathy to warn, protect, or even notify you of the potential attack.

What we did gain was a spiraling nexus of seemingly improbable questions, pulling Sid and Moses further and further from recovering their business venture. Questions that must be answered, for as much as this first documentary is a personal odyssey, it uncovered evidence indicating user vulnerability at a staggering scale, and a desire or capability to protect us at an embarrassing one. We need answers to these most basic questions before this series can tackle the harshest ones that come creeping out from behind their answers.

Questions such as:

How was the account stolen?

Why was it seemingly impossible to recover control of the page, and why did Facebook brush off evidence of a devastating attack against their users?

If Sid and Moses hadn’t tried their best to prevent the attack, would you have been a victim too?

And so … why has Facebook prevented them from simply knowing whether or not their efforts did indeed fully protect you? Were you a victim? Was your trust violated? Was a part of your identity compromised?

Seriously now, given concrete warning of a potential massive cyber attack, why did Facebook admit that this happens all the time, and not considered a true threat? So what constitutes a true threat, and when … if ever … will Facebook bother to even warn or protect you?

What threat do botnets pose to us? And why don’t any of us know what a botnet is anyway?

Oh boy, we’re just getting started. And we need your help to further this investigation and others like it.

Watch “Burden of Information” today. It’s provided free of charge because you have a right to this information and to use it as you see fit. Go peek behind the wall we post on everyday, and catch those bits, the conversations in the background, the invisible in plain sight. Ask questions that we’ve been unable to fully answer ...

For now.

We will find out who’s using our personal data, our lives, both legal, and illegal.

For example: If Facebook knows, yet doesn’t reveal, that your personal page and information can be duplicated by hackers, is it happening right now?

Suspicious, unsettled, and disturbed, by these implications, “Burden of Information” shows how a personal quest to reclaim a stolen page, with 2.4 million users, is becoming a quest to protect us all, because let’s face it ... how is our data any different from who we truly are?

Your funding will allow us to pursue the truth. We’ll use it to learn, to share, and to defend. The freedom to represent ourselves, connect, and to communicate is beautiful. Yet dangerous. Yes, safeguards are needed, as are acts that promote understanding, rather than obfuscated loopholes hanging like nooses. But ultimately, we must take responsibility for our own protection ... and that means facing the ugliest questions of all.

-Victor Giannini for Burden of Information

Series Details

The Team

Sidney Field III (From the Doc) has agreed to help me for the next year in putting out this series.

We are also looking at 1 or 2 more potential team members for the series.

Funding

Out of 50,000 a total of 10-8 percent goes to Kickstarter and Amazon for processing payments, (so for budgeting we will say 10 percent) -5000

45,000

-25,000 rent, food and living expenses for the team (we are going to share a house...there will be no webcams...as of yet)

20,000

That will go to-

paying other professionals

equipment

upgrade and upkeep as needed

travel

and other production expenses for the series

Schedule

First new installment in April, Subject: Botnets

What are they, how they effect us, the economy and national security

Second installment in July, Subject: Big Data

How is our data used and sold? How does it harm or benefit us? Who has access to it? How personal is it? What have been the draw backs from it?

Third installment in October: The Blacklists

Right now there are a variety of companies with Blacklists on individuals and IP addresses, as it stands there is no one monitoring these companies On one hand they are providing a great service, on another, it has been argued, that they have unchecked power. Do they serve for protect of the people and the greater good, or do they act as dams for to the control of information.

Again, all of these will be given free to the people

I believe that this is a realistic budget and schedule for the series. I have seen many successful Kickstaters that have made their goal but have not delivered due to the fact that they did not raise the amount of money necessary to truly complete on schedule.

I would rather have this Kickstater be unsuccessful, than reach the goal and not deliver.