The Cleaners (2018)

A look at the shadowy underworld of the Internet where questionable content is removed.

Directors:

Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck

Writers:

Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck

Stars:

Mark Zuckerberg, Donald Trump, Nicole Wong

7 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Mark Zuckerberg	...	Himself (archive footage)
Donald Trump	...	Himself (archive footage)
Nicole Wong	...	Herself - Deputy Chief Technology Officer of the United States
Sarah T. Roberts	...	Herself - Assistant Professor of Information Studies, University of California
Illma Gore	...	Herself
Abdulwahab Tahhan	...	Himself - Senior Researcher, London College of Communication
Khaled Barakeh	...	Himself - Artist and Cultural Activist
David Kaye	...	Himself
Mocha Uson	...	Herself
Ed Lingao	...	Himself - Journalist, TV5 News
Antonio García Martínez	...	Himself - Author of Book 'Chaos Monkeys'
Yaman Akdeniz	...	Himself - Professor of Law, Istanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi
Sabo	...	Himself - Hate Speech Advocate and Militant Racist
Tristan Harris	...	Himself - Co-Founder of The Center for Humane Technology
Nay San Lwin	...	Himself - Rohingya Activist and Blogger

Storyline

When you post something on the web, can you be sure it stays there? Enter a hidden shadow industry of digital cleaning where the Internet rids itself of what it doesn't like - violence, pornography and - political content. Who is controlling what we see and what we think?

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Plot Keywords:

big data | society | current affairs | politics | technology | 

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Taglines:

Who is controlling what we see...and what we think?

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion [Germany] official website gebrueder beetz filmproduktion

Country:

Germany Brazil Netherlands Italy USA Japan UK Sweden Austria Switzerland Denmark Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 May 2018 (Germany)

Also Known As:

The Cleaners

Filming Locations:

Manila, Philippines

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,670

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion, Grifa Filmes, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
anon Cleaner #1: I need to be anonymous because we have a concept saying we are not allowed to declare whom we are working with. The reason why I speak to you is because the world should know that we are here; there is somebody who is checking the social media; we are doing our best to make this platform safe for all of them.

User Reviews

All Facebook and Twitter users should see this film

Documentary focusing on content moderators for social media working out of Manila, Philippines. Really manages to connect the dots between Silicon Valley's breezy disregard for social responsibility and many atrocities going on in the world. A real eye opener, drives home how the outsourcing of editorial policy to grossly unqualified and underpaid people has put all of us at risk. The directors manage to accomplish this with little or no editorializing. Just great interviews and effective editing. Hard-hitting, old-school documentary on a chilling topic. I would give it a 10, except for minor quibbles about filmmaking decisions (mostly music and soundtrack). Still, not to be missed. Gripping from start to finish.