THE INTERNET WARRIORS
Who are the people that get so angry online? Why do so many of them choose to harass people, threaten people, and stretch the freedom of speech to its limits?
More than a third of us participate in online debates, according to research done by Pew Research Centre. During the past three years, documentarist Kyrre Lien has met some of the most active online commenters across the world. From the fjords in Norway, to the U.S. desert, a boat in Denmark and an apartment in Lebanon.
He has met the men who generally are a bit older and turn the comments section into a masculine arena, and the women, who more often choose Facebook – a much younger arena.
Research also shows that the ones who are very active in debates online are somewhat more critical to immigration and trust the government less than others.
The exhibition:
The exhibition consists of containers decorated as the living rooms of The Internet Warriors and photographs out on display.
It has been shown on Youngstorget in Oslo, Torget i Trondheim, Horten, Kristiansand and in Fredrikstad.
Here you can see how it looked.
How:
During the last three years, documentarist Kyrre Lien, have traveled across the globe to meet The Internet Warriors. Tens of thousands of comments have been read to narrow it down to the group now presented as a documentary, book and exhibition. Some of the ones portrayed are some of the most active debaters the Internet has to offer. The selection of people tries to be representative of the people who debate and is based on demographic statistics from the book “Likes – dislikes”, as well as research done by Pew Research Centre.
Video/text/stills/editing by: Kyrre Lien
Executive editor at The Guardian: Charlie Phillips
Executive editor at VG: Svein Kjølberg
Translation by: Kyrre Hellevang Tveiten
Proofreading: Ellen Emmerentze Thommessen Jervell
A special thanks to: Friends, family and all of you who opened your homes.
With the financial support from: Fritt Ord Foundation, The Guardian, Bertha Foundation, Verdens Gang, Trondheim Kommune, Fond for Lyd og Bilde and Trondheim Fylkeskommune.
Made possible by the sponsorship from Bakken & Bæck.