The Cleaners (FSK 16+)

Content Warning: This documentary contains potentially traumatizing material, including depictions of violence. Please make sure that you and those around you are prepared before watching this film.

Age Rating 16+: This film is not suitable for children and young people under 16 years of age.

Thousands of external employees review photos and videos for Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media platforms. The film sheds light on their stressful work, where they must decide within seconds whether content is deleted or remains online. The criteria and guidelines for this job are among the best-kept secrets of the internet giants. Who controls what we see and what we think?

Alongside the personal stories of five workers, the film also addresses the global consequences of online censorship, showing how fake news and hate speech are spread and amplified through social networks. The filmmakers give a voice to those who, under enormous pressure, decide whether content disappears or stays on social media. Facebook, Twitter, and other companies outsource this work to service providers in Manila, where thousands of employees are kept from speaking about their employers through intimidation and repression.

Zum ersten Mal ist es den Autoren gelungen, jenen Menschen eine Stimme zu geben, die unter diesem Druck über Verbleib oder Verschwinden von Inhalten auf den sozialen Plattformen entscheiden. Facebook, Twitter und Co. beauftragen für diese Arbeit Dienstleistungsunternehmen in Manila, die Tausende von Angestellten mit Einschüchterungen und Repressalien vom Sprechen über ihre Auftraggeber abhalten.

The film portrays young workers who take pride in their jobs as content moderators. Some even feel it is their Christian duty to fight against “evil” on the web and to keep social media platforms, as they say, “healthy.” The companies exploit both their religious convictions and their willingness to sacrifice themselves for what they see as sinners of the world.

Many moderators are left deeply traumatized by their work. The symptoms they develop are often similar to those of soldiers returning from war. Yet while military service is recognized and valued by society, content moderators must remain invisible. In most cases, they are not even allowed to tell their families what they are exposed to every day.

A documentary by H. Block and M. Riesewieck