Jolt Documentary ‘Can’t Look Away’ Examines Dangers of Social Media

In the documentary “Can’t Look Away,” administrators Matthew O’Neill and Perri Peltz expose the darkish aspect of social media and the tragic influence Big Tech firm algorithms can have on kids and teenagers.

Based on in depth investigative reporting by Bloomberg News reporter Olivia Carville, the doc follows a crew of legal professionals at Seattle’s Social Media Victims Law Center who’re battling a number of tech firms for households who’ve misplaced kids as a consequence of suicide, drug overdose, or exploitation linked to social media use. O’Neill and Peltz (“Axios,” “Surveilled”) seize the legal professionals’ battle in opposition to Section 230 of the Federal Communications Act. Created in 1996 earlier than the beginning of social media, Section 230, referred to as the Communications Decency Act, states that web service suppliers can’t be held chargeable for what third events are doing.

“The fact that this group of really incredible lawyers came together with this mission in mind to get around Section 230 through product liability, we just thought it was such a fascinating approach,” says Peltz.

“Can’t Look Away” is at the moment streaming on Jolt, an AI-driven streaming platform that connects impartial movies with audiences. Recent Jolt titles embrace “Hollywoodgate,” “Zurawsksi v Texas,” and “The Bibi Files,” a documentary from Oscar-winners Alex Gibney and Alexis Bloom that investigates corruption in Israeli politics.

O’Neill says that he and Petlz determined to place “Can’t Look Away” on Jolt, partially, as a result of the corporate might “move quickly and decisively reach an audience now, with a message that audiences are hungry for.”

“What was also appealing to us is this sense of Jolt as a technology company,” he says. “They are using these tools to identify and draw in new audiences that might not be the quote unquote documentary audience. We are documentary filmmakers, and we want our films to speak to everyone.”

Jolt makes use of AI to energy its Interest Delivery Networks, enabling movies to attach with their goal audiences. The platform’s Chief Executive Officer, Tara Hein-Phillip, wouldn’t disclose Jolt viewership numbers for “Can’t Look Away,” making it tough to find out how properly the brand new distribution service is performing. However, Hein-Phillip did reveal that for the reason that platform’s launch in March 2024, the corporate’s most-viewed movie is the documentary “Your Fat Friend,” which charts the rise of author, activist, and influencer Aubrey Gordon. Hein-Phillip attributed a part of the movie’s success on Jolt to Gordon’s area of interest however vital on-line following.

“We are still learning along the way what builds audience and where to find them and how long it takes to build them,” Hein-Phillip says. “It’s slightly different for every film. We really focus on trying to find unique audiences for each individual film. In a way, that is problematic because it’s not a reliable audience to say, ‘Oh, we have built however many for this particular film, now we can turn them onto (this other) film and they’ll all go there.’ They won’t.”

The firm makes use of superior knowledge analytics and machine studying to develop efficiency advertising and marketing plans that concentrate on particular audiences for every movie and enhance consciousness. All collected knowledge is shared with every respective Jolt filmmaker, who receives 70% of their Jolt earnings and retains full possession of their work and all future rights.

“Initially, we thought Jolt would just be an opportunity to put a film up there,” says Hein-Phillip. “We would put some marketing against it, and we would push the film out into the world and give it our best push, and we definitely still do that, but now we realize that to build an audience, you actually have to do a handful of things. Some films come to us and they have already done that work, and some films come to us and they haven’t. If they haven’t, it’s in our best interest and their best interest for us to help facilitate that.”

That “work” can embrace a theatrical launch, an influence marketing campaign, or a competition run.

In addition to being a “great, impactful film,” Hein-Phillip says that Jolt partnered with O’Neill and Peltz on “Can’t Look Away” due to the doc’s viewers potential.

“There are so many audiences for this film – parents, teenagers, lawyers, educators, etc,” mentioned Hein-Philip.

To appeal to these audiences, Jolt and “Can’t Look Away” administrators have, paradoxically, relied on social media to assist get the phrase out in regards to the movie.

“We aren’t anti-social media,” says Petlz. “What we are trying to say in the film is – put the responsibility where it rightly belongs.”

“Can’t Look Away” might be launched on Bloomberg Media Platforms in July.