A Russian hacker group tried to obliterate Bolingbrook by filing a Digital Millennium Copyright Act complaint. The complaint falsely claimed that Bolingbrook, Illinois, is an illegal copy of the Russian village of Bolingbrook, Belgorod. The complaint not only demanded purging the Internet of any reference to Bolingbrook, but also demanded the state of Illinois demolish the village.
“This is an insult to the proud residents of Bolingbrook!” said Mayor Mary Alexander-Basta. “We will not let a frivolous DMCA complaint destroy over fifty years of progress.”
The complaint references an alleged website for the Russian Bolingbrook village. The site, which was created in March 2023, claims Bolingbrook, Belgorod is “proud community with a thousand years of history.” Yet, all the photos appear to have been downloaded from the Village of Bolingbrook’s Facebook page, or from residents of Bolingbrook. Most are unaltered, but some have been crudely Photoshopped to add polar bears.
State officials, who asked not be identified, confirmed they won’t enforce the takedown request. One said the complaint was the worst abuse of copyright law since Negativeland was forced to destroy copies of their song “U2.” Another claimed the complaint is invalid because the complainant didn’t provide their read name and address.
The Russian hacker group Super Patriotic Americans for Orange Man claimed responsibility for the DMCA complaint. Part of their statement read, “Why create when we can use American copyright law to take?”
YouTube personality and private intelligence analyst Ryan McBeth believes the DMCA attack will be the first of many unconventional attacks against the United States. “All it takes is one ill-intentioned governor to use a Russian DMCA complaint as an excuse to destroy a major city.” He later added, “Damn it. YouTube just demonetized another one of my videos!”
Alexander-Basta said she’s working with covert social media operative Charlene Spencer to protect the village from future DMCA attacks. “I used to wonder why I let her inside Village Center instead of arresting her. I guess an amoral person can do the right thing occasionally.”
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Mind Flyer spotted near Palatine
God to smite Bolingbrook on 9/22/23
Note: This is a work of fiction. All opinions expressed are my own. They do not reflect the views of any organization I work for or of my employer.
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