A woman recounts her journey to become a mouthpiece for white nationalist hate speech, work that culminates in high-profile violence and Hidden wiki murder. Another episode focuses on sextortion, with several women recalling heinous attempts at virtual blackmail.
Keanu Reeves narrates this riveting story of the man behind Silk Road, Ross William Ulbricht, aka ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’, who was nabbed by the FBI in 2013. This dark net documentary is one for the history books.
Silk Road
The infamous darknet site Silk Road was an online marketplace that sold illegal drugs and other contraband. The film tells the story of the man who ran it and how he was caught. It features Nick Robinson and Jason Clarke in the lead roles. It was directed by Tiller Russell, who also helmed Netflix’s docuseries Night Stalker.
The plot centers on Ross Ulbricht, a young and idealistic tech genius who creates the Internet’s first unregulated marketplace, Silk Road. Eventually, the site becomes a multimillion dollar pipeline for illicit drugs. His success attracts the attention of disgraced DEA agent Rick Bowden (Jason Clarke, Cobra Kai). Bowden is determined to take down Ulbricht by any means necessary.
In the movie, he portrays Ulbricht as someone who was always coming up with big ideas but never saw them through to the end. He makes Ulbricht appear sympathetic, even when he orders hits on potential enemies. In contrast, he presents Bowden as a washed-up detective who’s close to retirement but solves the case by taking risks.
Families can talk about the ways in which Silk Road portrays both Ulbricht and Bowden. They can also discuss whether the film intends to encourage viewers to empathize with or feel compassion for these people who sell and use narcotics. They can compare the movie’s outlook on narcotics with their own. They can also consider whether drug use is ever justified in this context.
Hacker
When most people hear the word hacker, they think of a geeky-looking person who infects computers with viruses or cracks passwords to raid the accounts of big business. However, there are many different types of hackers. Some hack for a cause while others do it to show off their skills. For example, 15-year-old prodigy Kevin Mitnick famously hacked into CNN’s website and even tampered with the system at Los Alamos National Laboratory, Security Pacific Bank, and Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Other hackers, known as grey hat hacker, are hired by criminal organizations or by ordinary businesses to secure their systems. This Netflix documentary features interviews with former hackers and focuses on the ethical issues faced by those who work in the gray area of cybersecurity. The movie also stars Mel Gibson, who is making a comeback after his anti-Semitic and misogynistic tirades. The trailer is titled Hot Seat and moves at a rapid-exposition pace as Gibson races against time to save his former hacker friend (played by Kevin Dillon) from a bomb tied to his chair.
WeWork
In less than a decade, coworking space company WeWork went from a small start-up to an international brand worth $47 billion. It was one of the most highly-valued private companies in history. But, like all start-ups, it wasn’t without its challenges.
WeWork was founded by Adam Neumann and Miguel McKelvey, who envisioned a network of offices where entrepreneurs and freelancers could share ideas in an environment that blurred the line between work and play. In the early days, WeWork garnered massive media attention for its unique design and emphasis on promoting social interaction amongst its occupants. The ‘we’ in its name wasn’t ornamental or gimmicky; it represented a belief in the shared community.
Neumann’s overly ambitious plans and extravagant lifestyle were often at odds with WeWork’s corporate governance and lack of profit. This eroded investor confidence, which ultimately led to the demise of the $47 billion unicorn. A number of negative reports, including marijuana being found on the company jet that landed in Japan (where it is illegal), further disconcerted investors.
Based on the Wondery podcast, WeCrashed stars Academy Award and SAG winner Jared Leto as WeWork founder Adam Neumann. Anne Hathaway, Kyle Marvin, America Ferrera, and O-T Fagbenle round out the cast of this eight-episode limited series, which was directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra. The Apple TV+ miniseries is adapted by Lee Eisenberg and Drew Crevello from their WeCrashed podcast with the pair serving as co-writers, executive producers, and co-showrunners.
I’m Not a Nazi
From online gaming to fraudulent 911 calls, the dark web can be a dangerous place. This documentary shows how virtual trickery can have deadly consequences. Conspiracy, fraud and violence all take centre stage as a series of harrowing stories unfold.
It follows the story of a woman who becomes a mouthpiece for white nationalist hate speech, culminating in high-profile violence and murder. This episode analyses the rise of the far-right, and how online platforms allow users to post extreme content, which algorithms then promote. It also explores how the internet allows users to anonymously communicate and share ideas with people they would never have met otherwise.
The Internet is a technological marvel, but it is also rife with manipulation and criminal activity. This docu-series shines a light on some of the more seedy ways that people use the internet to their dastardly advantage, including tax robberies, political interference and terrorism. It is available on Netflix on 15 June.
Sex Extortion
In this Netflix dark web documentary, viewers get to hear from the actual victims of cyber crimes and how they’ve been affected in their real lives. Featuring interviews from journalists, investigators, attorneys, and victims, along with dramatic reenactments, this series illustrates the real-world impact of people’s online actions. From “swatting” (online gamers calling emergency services on other players), to sextortion, this documentary shows how easy it is for individuals to cause immense harm and damage.
While many of the cases highlighted in the documentary are incredibly disturbing, it’s important to note that some of the episodes feature people fighting back against these criminals and helping to shut them down. By allowing viewers to see how a single person can ruin the lives of so many others through the internet, this documentary helps bring awareness and change to some of these issues.
The film features interviews from federal and local prosecutors as well as Homeland Security Investigations agents who describe real-life cases. But it also includes claims disputed by experts in the field and an emphasis on large statistics that experts say muddle the scale and scope of the issue. It’s also important to remember that victims of sexual extortion often feel silenced by their perpetrators and are sometimes even prevented from reporting their own experiences by laws that don’t recognize non-physical forms of coercion. This makes it hard for the victims/survivors to get the help they need.
The Stingray
The FBI uses a secret weapon called a Stingray to track a San Jose identity thief in his own home. He gets the tables turned on them by hiring a legal team to argue that it’s a Fourth Amendment violation and needs a warrant.
Conspiracy, fraud, violence and murder: what starts out virtual can get very real very quickly. From Academy Award-winning executive producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer (“Downfall”). From Netflix.
