Find additional screenings of The Cleaners
Featuring directors Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck, and Assistant Professor of Information Studies, UCLA, Dr. Sarah T. Roberts
Along with handing over our personal data, have we also ceded freedom and democracy to tech company behemoths? Join directors Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck, and Dr. Sarah T. Roberts, Assistant Professor of Information Studies, UCLA, for a deep dive into the hidden world of online content moderation. Hosted by Ben Makuch.
About the film
The images and content on social media are censored based on more relative decisions than one may think. Who is behind what is considered “inappropriate”? Silicon Valley outsources hundreds of anonymous “digital janitors” in Manila who screen tens of thousands of posts while using their often personal filters to determine what we can and cannot see. In dark rooms and behind computer monitors, their fingers hover over the delete button as they ponder what is more offensive—a naked painting of President Trump, or a photo of a Libyan refugee child who drowned crossing the Mediterranean? From war zone photography to pornography, these ghostly content controllers make decisions about what could have societal psychological impacts, what could cause political destabilization and what is inciting terrorism. An eerie story of control and censorship, this powerful film explores the lives of the cleaners and the individuals and organizations who have been negatively impacted by their questionable decisions to delete. Heather Haynes
About the host
Ben Makuch is an award-winning national security reporter with VICE News in Toronto. Previously with the Canadian Press’s Parliamentary Bureau, Makuch was in contact with several homegrown Islamic State militants from Canada. That reporting caught the attention of federal authorities who are trying to force Makuch to hand over all source materials connected to Farah Mohamed Shirdon, an alleged ISIS fighter from Calgary. Makuch refused and is now fighting his case at the Supreme Court of Canada. He faces possible jail time if he loses.
Makuch is currently the correspondent for Cyberwar on VICELAND and a correspondent for VICE News Tonight on HBO.
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