United States of Secrets

Editor's Take

Drawing on FRONTLINE's reporting, the film reconstructs the secret surveillance apparatus the United States built after the September 11 attacks. It follows the officials who ran the program, the whistleblowers who broke ranks, and the journalists who brought it to light. The account is procedural and sourced, more concerned with how the system grew and was exposed than with easy conclusions. It rewards viewers willing to follow a complex institutional story across its many turns.

United States of Secrets tells the inside story of the vast secret surveillance program the American government built after the attacks of September 11. Drawing on FRONTLINE's reporting, it follows the officials, whistleblowers, and journalists who exposed how far the collection of phone and internet data reached. The film details the lengths taken to keep the program hidden and the fierce debate that erupted once it came to light. It is a definitive account of security, secrecy, and privacy in the post-9/11 era. Free to watch in HD on Dr Documentary.

Courtesy of FRONTLINE PBS on YouTube. Watch on YouTube ↗

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