The Cleaners
Catalogue Number: BLUE34
Producer: Blue Ice Docs Fund Inc.
Subject: Criminal Justice & Law, Documentary, Media and Communications, Media Literacy, Social Issues, Social Media, Social Sciences
Language: English
Grade Level: Post Secondary, Adult
Country Of Origin: Germany
Copyright Year: 2018
Running Time: 89:26
Explore the shadow industry of “content moderators,” hired by Silicon Valley leaders to control what we see online.
"Delete...Ignore...Delete… Ignore…" Someone is out there censoring your social media feed. Do their decisions distort your understanding of the world as much as clever hoaxes and "fake news"? They’re hired by Silicon Valley leaders like Facebook and Google to do “digital cleaning," content moderators who are paid to sift through and remove what they deem as inappropriate content on the internet, thereby influencing what people around the world see and think. Told in the sinister style of a neon, cyberpunk thriller, The Cleaners charts social media’s evolution from a shared vision of a global village to a dangerous web of fake news, extremism and radicalization.
Winner - 2019 Docudays UA International Documentary Human Rights Film Festival
“A neon-lit documentary shot like a noir thriller.” – Variety
“The film is packed with pressing questions faced by internet giants, governments, and you and me.” - Cnet.com
“Smart, stylish doc exposes must-discuss issues regarding the companies who dominate the Internet.” - The Hollywood Reporter
