Subject of interest:
Storyboarder.ai
Storyboarder.ai bills itself as a next-generation video creation tool. Their YouTube channel features polished videos, complete with music, and proudly declares: “No post-production. No external tools. Just pure creative flow.” That single line tells potential customers everything they need to know: you can build a finished video inside Storyboarder.ai without outside software. Except, you cannot.
After subscribing to the Production Unlimited plan, I quickly discovered the truth. Storyboarder.ai doesn’t support audio of any kind. No voiceovers. No music. No sound effects. Nothing. If you want sound, you’re forced to export your silent video and patch it together later using third-party software.
When I pushed for a refund, their human agent, Dustin, claimed I could have tested the system for free. He pointed to a plan that supposedly lets users create and export up to three videos without paying. The story isn’t that simple. The chatbot, as of September 8th, 2025, insists that with the free plan, you can export MP4s or XML files, though capped at two projects and nine shots per project. My own experience was different. I was prompted to upgrade before I could export anything. No complete video left the system until I subscribed and paid a $281.99 fee.
If Storyboarder.ai truly wanted transparency, there wouldn’t be two competing answers to the same question. Either you can export with the free plan, or you cannot. Leaving customers confused, or worse, misled into thinking they’ll see the end product before paying, isn’t an accident. It’s by design. This muddled setup ensures many users will upgrade simply to find out what the platform really does. That’s exactly what happened to me. I didn’t discover the missing audio until I was already a paying subscriber. Calling this a free plan is disingenuous. It’s more like a baited funnel, where the system keeps you curious enough to pay, only to reveal the product’s biggest limitation after money changes hands.
When I asked why characters weren’t speaking, their AI assistant admitted the truth: “Currently, we don't support real audio elements in storyboards or animatics. Our platform doesn't have audio capabilities at this time.” Later, Dustin confirmed it again: “At this point, real audio elements like dialogue or voice-over are not yet implemented, but they are already on our roadmap and will be released in an upcoming update.”
So how do their YouTube videos have music if the platform doesn’t support sound? Easy. They added it with external software, then turned around and told the world no post-production was used. That’s not a mistake. That’s deception
The screenshot below is taken directly from Storyboarder.ai’s own YouTube channel. Notice the claim: “No external tools. No post-production...” Yet the video includes music, which their own support team confirmed cannot be created inside the platform. The audio was added in post-production, despite their public promise that it wasn’t.

I asked for a refund due to the deception. Dustin’s response was that refunds aren’t available for dissatisfaction with features, personal preferences, changes of mind, or non-use of the tool after purchase. That list conveniently covers almost every scenario where a buyer might realize the product doesn’t match the marketing. In other words, once they’ve got your money, you’re stuck.
This isn’t about nitpicking features. It’s about trust. Their website, terms of service, and tutorials never disclose that the system can’t process audio. This is 2025, not the 1920s era of silent films. Their own demo videos contain audio while insisting no external tools were used. The so-called free plan doesn’t actually let you effectively test the finished product. And the end result is that customers are misled into subscribing under false assumptions. This isn’t a case of unmet expectations. It’s false advertising by omission and design.
In 2025, a platform that markets itself as a video maker but can’t produce sound should be upfront about it. Instead, Storyboarder.ai hides that fact behind carefully worded ads and demo reels that give the opposite impression. That’s not innovation. That’s bait and switch. A disclosure as simple as “Audio is not currently supported. All music and sound in demo videos was added externally” would solve the problem. They choose not to publish it because they know the truth would kill sales.
Storyboarder.ai isn’t a scam because it fails to work. It’s a scam because it deliberately hides what it can’t do. Customers are funneled into paying subscriptions under the impression they’ll get a full video creation tool. What they actually get is a mute slideshow machine. I fell for it. Others shouldn’t have to. Silent films ended in 1929. Nearly a hundred years later, Storyboarder.ai is still creating them.
If you’ve had a similar experience, don’t stay silent like Storyboarder.ai's videos. File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Leave an honest review on Facebook and other social media platforms so others aren’t fooled. If you paid and were denied a refund, open a dispute with your bank or credit card provider citing misrepresentation of features. Report deceptive advertising practices to the Federal Trade Commission.
Silent films ended in 1929. This is 2025, and Storyboarder.ai is still producing them. One voice can be dismissed. Many voices can’t. If Storyboarder.ai won’t disclose the truth, then it’s up to us, their users, to make sure the truth is heard. They may not support audio, but we do.
Why did you create Misleading by Design?
As a writer, I’ve experienced the joy of creating stories but also the frustration of navigating the publishing world. Behind the scenes, the process of marketing a book is filled with scams, schemes, and people looking to take advantage of authors. With over 30 years of experience in intelligence and investigations, I realized I could use those skills along with my writing background to help expose the bad actors in our industry and beyond. Misleading by Design is my way of fighting back.
Your projects seem all over the place. Why not just stick to one subject or theme?
At first glance, my projects might seem scattered. I write about ghost stories, spiritual preservation, investigative reporting, and even political analysis. But they all serve one purpose. Each one invites readers to interpret what they see based on their own beliefs, experiences, and instincts. That's the heart of Branching Plot Books. Whether it's a scroll sealed with a forgotten soul, a book that can be read multiple ways, or a report that exposes something hidden in plain sight, the goal is the same. I want readers to take an active role, to question the surface, and decide what they believe is real. The stories may differ, but the purpose is always connected.
What is Misleading by Design’s Briefing Room?
It’s an investigative blog that exposes political bias, fraud, scams, and manipulation in institutions that claim to educate or protect the public. That includes universities, publishing platforms, corporate programs, and anything else hiding an agenda behind a professional front.
Who runs this blog?
I do. Arthur Mills. I’m a retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 and former All-Source Intelligence Technician with 31 years of experience in intelligence and investigations. I’ve tracked extremist threats, exposed political corruption, and led intelligence operations. I’ve seen what real indoctrination looks like, and I’m calling it out when I see it again. This time in classrooms and consumer markets.
Are you affiliated with any political group?
No. I don’t work for any party, PAC, campaign, or media outlet. I’m not here to push an agenda or play politics. I’m here to expose whoever’s lying, misrepresenting, or manipulating others, regardless of which side they’re on.
When I worked in the private sector, I conducted opposition research and tracked domestic extremist groups from across the political spectrum. I’ve investigated threats from both the left and the right. I don’t excuse violence, bias, or propaganda just because it aligns with one side’s agenda. If you're hiding your motives behind credentials, credentials behind ideology, or ideology behind fake neutrality, you're part of the problem. And you’ll show up here.
Why are you investigating food? What does this have to do with Branching Plot Books?
Because it’s the most common scam nobody talks about. Fast food chains show thick burgers and crisp fries in their ads, then hand you a flattened mess in a greasy bag. Grocery stores use packaging that promises quality but delivers bland, shriveled, or half-empty products. It’s manipulation through presentation. They sell the illusion, not the item.
And that’s the same trick used in education, politics, publishing, and everywhere else. If they can sell you a lie in a sandwich, they can sell it anywhere.
Misleading by Design fits the larger mission of Branching Plot Books by turning real-world scams into something the reader has to question, interpret, and investigate. Like my other projects, it doesn’t hand you answers. It gives you evidence, patterns, and contradictions, then dares you to put the pieces together. Whether it’s testimonies from the lost souls, curriculum bias, staged food ads, or publishing cons, the goal is the same: to make you rethink what you’ve been told and see how easily truth gets packaged, sold, and distorted.
What made you investigate American Military University?
Because it claims to train intelligence and homeland security professionals. What it’s actually doing is grooming students to think one way, speak one way, and ignore anything that doesn’t fit the school's left-wing agenda. That isn’t education. That's political indoctrination.
When I was tracking domestic extremist groups, I kept asking the same question. Where does this hate come from? What feeds it? I suspected the root was in their education. What they were taught. What they were not taught. That includes schools and universities. The slogans change, but the indoctrination is baked in.
After retiring from the military, I decided to get the formal education to match my experience. I chose a degree in Counter-Terrorism from American Military University. It promotes itself as a leader in intelligence, counter-terrorism, and homeland defense. It’s one of the largest programs of its kind. On paper, it looked like the right fit.
It wasn’t.
Course after course, it became clear that AMU wasn’t teaching students how to counter terrorism. It was teaching them how to adopt one worldview. How to view one side as the enemy. How to justify violence and extremism from the other. This wasn’t counter-terrorism. It was a curriculum on how to become a left-wing extremist.
I document everything. The entire report is published on The Briefing Room, in serialized form. I sent it to professors and top university officials. They ignored it. They didn’t defend their curriculum. They didn’t ask for clarification. They ignored me. They know I’m on to them.
That's why I’m staying in the program. I’m not there for the degree anymore. I don’t need it. I’m there to finish the investigation. American Military University has built a propaganda machine. And I plan to expose every part of it.
Do you accept tips or leads?
Yes. If you’ve seen something worth investigating, send it through my contact page. I check everything personally.
This includes curriculum bias at any level, from elementary schools to universities. If you’ve seen political agendas being pushed in grade school lesson plans, high school classrooms, college syllabi, or university programs, I want to hear about it. If you’ve dealt with fake credentials, unethical hiring, publishing fraud, corporate indoctrination, or institutional censorship, send it in. I follow evidence, not agendas.
If something feels off and you think no one else will touch it, send it anyway. I’ll look into it.
0 comments