Most, who follow the Anonymous movement, have heard of the YouTube channel, “Anonymous Official”, which is notorious for stealing videos created by actual Anons, revamping them, and calling them their own.
Over the last five years, Anonymous Official has slowly gained a monopoly over ‘Anonymous’ on YouTube. They have made a hefty profit off the theft of other’s hard work and accomplishments. Meanwhile, they’ve contributed nothing to the movement itself.
This behavior has largely gone unchecked due to the fact Anons do not take their battles to the courtroom. This is a technicality Anonymous Official is using to their advantage.
After observing Anonymous Official over the years, what initially started as mild gratitude, quickly turned to suspicion. This one channel pumped out “Messages” from Anonymous by the masses, many of which originated elsewhere.
Sharing videos created by those within the Anonymous movement – those who are actually trying to bring about change in the world – is entirely appropriate. Recreating Anonymous videos to make them appear as your own for the purpose of recognition and profit, is unacceptable.
Through a mixture of over-confidence and hubris, the sole owner of “Anonymous Official” made himself known to us through one of our little birdies.
Meet Anthony Vaiana, an English and Film Studies teacher at the Niagara Catholic District School Board in Niagra Falls, Ontario. He lives in Buffalo, NY:
Anthony formerly worked as a painter in Rochester (NY) before attending school at the State University of New York at Fredonia. He likes the New York Yankees, photography, and threatening people who report videos he’s stolen:
Anonymous Official/Anthony Vaiana’s counter notification reads:
Display name of uploader: Anonymous Official
This is our original content and you own NONE of the rights to it. Remove this strike imminently.
I swear, under penalty of perjury, that I have a good-faith belief that the material was removed due to a mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled.
I consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the district in which my address is located or, if my address is outside the United States, the judicial district in which YouTube is located, and will accept service of process from the claimant.
Anthony Vaiana
56 Baker Ct
Buffalo, NY 14218 US
(716) 235-1631
No, Mr. Vaiana, we won’t see you in court. We’ll just expose you. We’re Anonymous. You should have expected us.
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