One viewing of the new documentary How to Build a Truth Engine will blow you away with its jaw-dropping implications—enough to make you wonder what the legendary CBS News impresario Edward R. Murrow would say about it. Director Friedrich Moser’s mind-blowing look at how information is fed and how we consume information is absolutely chilling.
That’s because How to Build a Truth Engine hails from producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov. The Award-winning duo team behind Good Night and Good Luck holds onto what is now a lost art form: journalistic ethics. Not only has the newspaperman been replaced by someone with the acronym “SEO,” but also by the ones in power who control the flow and input of information.
The new SXSW documentary explores the origin of online conspiracy theories and disinformation campaigns and their effects on communities and cultures. The importance of journalism emerged from propaganda and totalitarian regimes in the 1930s. Authoritarian villains from Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and the Socialist state of the Soviet Union adeptly used propaganda to shape public perception by controlling information.
During this era, the radio served as a technological tool for rapidly spreading propaganda and disinformation campaigns. Today, search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing (now, consider DuckDuckGo as the Goose with a noose that leads its users to slaughter) and social media platforms such as X, Facebook, and Instagram serve as news sources. The documentary explores how one can, in a way, hack someone’s thoughts and then, perhaps, mold them.
A Google executive admitted in 2017 that it is not a truth engine; a scary proposition when people, young and old, use that search engine and social media platforms as their source for news. The documentary explores the fix for that problem by building a truth engine that aggregates data from many systems to a single location to decipher what is factual and fictional. During conflicts, governments face accusations, as seen in the city of Bucha during the Ukraine War.
In this instance, the Russian government claimed the bodies on the ground were actors. However, clear evidence contradicts this assertion. Researchers began unveiling that these were civilians whose lives were taken up close and personal. This revelation challenged the initial claims made by the Russian government. Reporters and the New York Times also investigate the connection between Russia and the Syrian Civil War, which is eye-opening. Perhaps even more jaw-dropping is the utilization of disinformation for rioters to hold onto during the Capitol building attacks by rioters believing an election was stolen from them.
These search engines and social media platforms, in turn, may intentionally disseminate hate speech, false narratives, and misinformation through modern technology. This intentional dissemination can perpetuate stereotypes, fuel prejudice, and negatively influence public opinion. The film then plainly explains how a stream of data can pollute the human brain, not only exposing the brain to such horrifying concepts but also making cellular changes that are, for lack of a better term, hardwired for hate to dismiss atrocities.
How To Build A Truth Engine is among the most important documentaries of the 21st century. In many ways, it is a terrific companion piece to Ava DuVernay’s spectacular film Origin, which tracks the origin of hate. Here, Moser, Clooney, and Heslov demonstrate how information output can hardwire brains into developing concepts like racism, stereotypes, and inequality. As an assistant professor in the research neurosurgery department at UCLA, Zahra Aghajan explains that if someone hacks the information feed, they hack the mind.
Undeniably powerful and riveting from start to finish, How To Build A Truth Engine is a vital film that presents morally complex issues, showcasing how higher powers can leverage the evolution of modern technology. It explores how news is produced, consumed, or understood to manipulate perspectives in their favor. To that point, you ask yourself, who benefits and why?
The next concern is that massive companies and governments will co-opt any innovation of a truth engine technology on their own, like gas-guzzling car companies, which were responsible for the death of the electric car. It’s a frightening prospect, and no group is safe from disinformation.
To that point, “good night and good luck” indeed.
How To Build A Truth Engine had its World Premiere at SXSW 2024 in the Documentary Spotlight section.
Director: Friedrich Moser
Rated: NR
Runtime: 135m
Undeniably powerful and riveting from start to finish, How To Build A Truth Engine is a vital film and one of the most important documentary films of our time.
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GVN Rating
I am a film and television critic and a proud member of the Las Vegas Film Critic Society, Critics Choice Association, and a 🍅 Rotten Tomatoes/Tomato meter approved. However, I still put on my pants one leg at a time, and that’s when I often stumble over. When I’m not writing about movies, I patiently wait for the next Pearl Jam album and pass the time by scratching my wife’s back on Sunday afternoons while she watches endless reruns of California Dreams. I was proclaimed the smartest reviewer alive by actor Jason Isaacs, but I chose to ignore his obvious sarcasm. You can also find my work on InSession Film, Ready Steady Cut, Hidden Remote, Music City Drive-In, Nerd Alert, and Film Focus Online.
