"I love this movie! This fast-paced documentary offers a crash course in the hidden history of the Internet – and how this revolutionary platform capable of enhancing freedom and democracy is being transformed into a vehicle for monopoly, hypercommercialism, and surveillance. As Prof. McChesney explains with total clarity, this is not a natural process but an evolution brought about by policy decisions made in Washington that were corrupted by corporate power. This documentary tells the bad news: the Internet, although birthed by the public’s tax money, was handed over, without public debate, to private corporations. And the good news: grassroots activists are now forcing a debate over the Internet and whether the public or a cartel should control it."
Jeff Cohen, Associate Professor of Journalism, Ithaca College
“There is no educational goal more imperative than helping students understand the power and reach of the digital revolution, and there is no one better able to guide us through these lessons than Robert McChesney. In his numerous books McChesney has shown how revolutions in communication technologies change everything, from entertainment and politics to commerce and social life, and fundamentally shape our encounters with the world. Equally important, McChesney shows that these technologies do not exist in a vacuum, but are shaped by the political and economic forces of industrial capitalism, and despite their real emancipatory potential have mostly served to further entrench established interests.
Digital Disconnect combines McChesney’s terrific explanatory skills with MEF’s wonderful production values and creativity, providing a one-stop 'zero-to-60' education in the most important topic of our times."
Larry Gross, USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism
"The release of this film based on Robert McChesney’s Digital Disconnect, updated to the present moment, is a most welcome development. The book itself is the most careful and penetrating analysis of how the promise of the internet has been distorted by concentrations of private power, undermining democracy and corrupting the general society. The film could hardly be more timely with new revelations daily illustrating the dangers of which McChesney presciently warned. It is a major contribution to the enlightenment and self-defense of citizens concerned with the state of their society and how we should act to overcome threatening social and institutional pathologies."
Noam Chomsky, MIT
"Digital Disconnect is a brilliant exposé documenting the harsh realities and economic fallout detrimentally impacting the everyday lives of Americans, and resulting in America’s rapid decline as a bastion of participatory Democracy. Intellectual luminary Robert McChesney takes a deep dive into the fundamental question of telecommunications policy: whose interests do digital technologies and media platforms serve? McChesney explores the contours of telecommunications history, and exposes the epic battle being waged by corporate behemoths to undermine the very foundations of our civil society. The evidence presented couldn’t be more stark."
Sascha Meinrath, Palmer Chair in Telecommunications, Penn State University
"This is the film on digital media’s impact on democracy that we have been waiting for. Robert McChesney is the leading scholar of the political economy of media, and he casts a critical eye on the congratulatory and self-serving myths promoted by corporate capitalism from the birth of the internet to Cambridge Analytica."
Dr. Bill Yousman, Director, Media Literacy and Digital Culture Graduate Program, Sacred Heart University
"In this masterful documentary, renowned media scholar Robert McChesney lays bare how unfettered capitalism and digital monopolies diminish the internet’s democratic potential. With systematic clarity, he provides viewers with the analytical tools to look beyond the hype and work toward real structural reform in our digital media system.
Digital Disconnect is an essential and engaging resource for either in or outside the classroom. It will appeal to activists, policymakers, journalists, educators, and anyone concerned about the future of democracy. I loved this film and will definitely use it in my own classes!"
Victor Pickard, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
"Digital Disconnect is a political ‘who dun it?’ that evokes the genres of both science fiction and historical period drama – with two very important differences. The story it tells is all too real, and while it has roots in the past it is occurring in our current moment, with significant implications for our future, and the future of democracy. Based on his important book of the same name, McChesney has woven together a political, economic, and technological narrative that is simultaneously educational, chilling, engaging, and, in the end, optimistic."
Michael X. Delli Carpini, Dean of Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
"Digital Disconnect is the film every citizen should watch to understand what happened to American democracy. The writing is superb, and the narrative is presented with rich visualizations and historical examples that are perfect for introducing students to the connections between politics, economics and how we communicate about them. McChesney explains in simple terms how economic corruption has jeopardized representative democracy, and created a media system that threatens independent journalism. The daily diet of spin and disinformation is spread through social media, adding isolation, polarization, and 24/7 surveillance to the price of communication. The film concludes with an inspiring look at the vision of the Founders and points to solutions consistent with once hallowed American principles."
Lance Bennett, University of Washington, Seattle
"Digital Disconnect shows how the capitalist colonisation of the Internet and digital technologies damages society and threatens democracy. It is an excellent educational resource for everyone interested in understanding the political economy of communication.”
Prof. Christian Fuchs, Director of the Communication and Media Research Institute at the University of Westminster; Author of “Social Media: A Critical Introducion” (3rd edition 2020)
“There is no better time than now to think critically about the vulnerability of our networked digital society. As an educator and researcher working to improve the health of the internet, I consider this film a must-watch for students who want to think critically and intelligently about the relationship between the internet and democracy. Digital Disconnect provides a riveting and balanced review of divergent debates over the power of the internet, from early internet enthusiasts who believed “The Revolution Will Be Tweeted” to internet skeptics who warned us that internet is making us stupid, distracted, disengaged and ill-informed.
While we are no strangers to such conflicting arguments, Robert McChesney pointedly reveals the root problem: the monopoly and hyper-commercialization in the political economy of the internet. The film provides ample paradoxical evidence debunking the libertarian delusion that deregulation and free-market bring about democratic systems, providing a compelling account of why dataficiation and algorithmic automation may harm the public interest.
What’s the solution then? Are public partnerships and government subsidy the ways to counter the commercial influence of big tech? Should we start a digital revolution? I believe these are the questions viewers can grapple with intelligently and critically. ”
Weiai Xu (Wayne), Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, Computational Social Science Institute, Univeristy of Masschusetts, Amherst
“This searing and challenging documentary explains how the internet’s commercial infrastructure cannot possibly sustain, much less realize, its democratic promises. With a breathtaking archive of historical media events, Bob McChesney’s Digital Disconnect is an impressive and visually playful resource for us to understand how the fight against fake news will require so much more than technological fixes.”
Jonathan Corpus Ong, Associate Professor of Global Digital Media, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
