The Gatekeepers
4.3/5
Critic Rating
Jamie Bartlett traces the story of how and why social media companies have become the new information gatekeepers, and what the decisions they make mean for all of us. It's 20 years since Facebook launched and the social media we know today - but it all started with a crazy idea to realise a hippie dream of building a "global consciousness". The plan was to build a connected world, where everyone could access everyone and everything all the time; to overthrow the old gatekeepers and set information free.But social media didn't turn out that way. Instead of setting information free...
Critic Reviews
Score: 5
Daisy Dunn • The Spectator • Feb 17, 2024
"The trajectory he describes is one from idealism to cynicism, from sharing to monetising, and -– for the bulk of users at least – from the promise of electronic liberation to something more akin to a complicated captivity. When one is in the thick of a phenomenon, as we are, it can be hard to discern its pathway, but I’m grateful to Bartlett for getting out his torch."
Score: 5
Miranda Sawyer • The Guardian • Feb 17, 2024
"Bartlett is an excellent presenter and The Gatekeepers rollicks along, while hardly treading new ground. And so far I’m not feeling too downcast. …"
Score: 4
Fiona Sturges • Financial Times • Feb 11, 2024
"The series is certainly timely...one hopes there are greater revelations in the pipeline. While contemplating how we got here has its merits, surely the more pressing question is how we make it stop. …"
Score: 3
James Marriot • The Times UK • Feb 8, 2024
"Bartlett does a commendable job of rootling around for unexpected stories, the few toothsome truffles of anecdote that still lie undisturbed. Bartlett is doing a valiant job of trying out original angles on this all-too-familiar territory. Perhaps as he gets closer to the present the story will become weirder and less familiar. I will be sticking with him to find out."
