THE CLEANERS, About Silicon Valley's 'Content Moderators' on PBS's Independent Lens 11/12
'Fake news.” Violent pornography. Terrorist propaganda. Everyone agrees that the initial dream of the internet as a utopian global community has evolved into something much more sinister. Silicon Valley leaders and lawmakers have taken steps to remove some of the internet's most hateful sites and content, but who actually sifts through the net and removes them? The Cleaners looks at five digital cleaners or “content moderators” – young people in an outsourced post in the Philippines who spend each day scanning the net and deciding what to keep and what to delete. Directed by Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck, The Cleaners premieres on Independent Lens Monday, November 12, 2018, 10:00-11:30 PM ET (check local listings) on PBS.