Shows
Videos
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Ex-Con Explains the Corruption of Prison Guards
“The justice system doesn’t make sense sometimes.”
The corruption of prison guards and institutional racism within the criminal justice system is a problem in many parts of the world. In this episode of Informers, an ex-convict in the UK tells us about his experiences in prison – where he witnessed drones dropping off ten ounces of weed, widespread corruption, extreme violence and what he describes as “slave labour”. We contacted Her Majesty’s Prison Service for a response to the allegations. As of October 2020, VICE is yet to receive a reply – but will update here if we do.
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The Horrors I’ve Witnessed on the Underground
A London Underground employee reveals the darker side of night work, some of the dangers he’s found himself in, and why the night tube isn’t always a ‘haven of safety’. He reveals how working on the underground is much more than just manning the platforms and driving trains, and that staff must adapt to dealing with serious violence, sexual harassment and people jumping in front of trains. With minimal training and lack of support, he highlights just how difficult the job can be, and the sometimes fatal effects of working nights.
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How I Trafficked Orangutans
An ex-orangutan trafficker describes how orangutans are captured, bought and sold, the distances they travel to customers, and why there is such a demand.
Hunters kill mother orangutans and steal their babies to supply to the exotic underground animal trade in Indonesia. The ex-trafficker describes the journey those babies make from their captors to buyers. They often travel via local bus routes, being packaged up and disguised in boxes, and transported across Indonesia.
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I Was Sold at a Slave Market
A victim of the Libyan migrant slave trade describes the horrors of being trapped in a horrific cycle of imprisonment, forced labour and torture. Migrants who reach Libya are being exploited by slave traders and being sold in public markets. An ordeal that often sees people held in prison, tortured for ransom, and sold into painful labour or debt slavery.
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The Scariest Things I’ve Seen While Hacking
A white hat hacker, with over 30 years of experience as a cybersecurity analyst at a major Silicon Valley company, talks about why he turned his back on black hat hacking for the greater good.
He talks about the reality of just how vulnerable our systems really are – from the very real threat of hackers taking the American power grid or medical facilities offline, to how easily accessible our private information is to anyone with WiFi and some time on their hands.
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The Horrors I Witnessed Digging Mass Graves
A Syrian bulldozer driver reveals the horrifying details of burying thousands in secret mass graves. The Informer is haunted by the mass graves he dug for victims killed by Bashar al-Assad’s regime. As the revolution unfolded, his municipal role changed into a military position overnight. This meant, for a year, the Informer was pushing dead bodies into large pits with his bulldozer. He recalls the stench of the bodies being so strong that he’d passed out the first time. The Informer was later arrested on flimsy charges and imprisoned under brutal conditions because “if he dies, he will die with all of his secrets and knowledge”.
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The Horrors I Saw at Korean Private Schools
An English teacher reveals the horrors of working at a notorious Hagwon school in South Korea, where staff and students are overworked to the point of breaking. The conditions are so bad that many teachers choose to “midnight run” – disappear in the night with no warning. After dealing with sexual harassment, constant CCTV monitoring, and verbal abuse, she decided to share her ordeal with the world. Watch more form this series: The Secret Hotel Sex Parties of the Mega-Rich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXyzDxxQRSA&t=30s What the Gambling Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABj7peI_R2M I Was Sold At A Slave Market https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHPFdTZp7Dw
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Drugs, Sex and Gangs Inside Rikers Island Prison
An ex-correction officer lifts the veil on the violence and dysfunction behind one of America’s most notorious jails housing inmates awaiting trial for murder, robbery and rape. Having worked at Rikers jail for two years, the Informer shares the demoralizing working conditions, corruption and sexual harassment – all for just doing her job. She reveals that regular cell tours turn ugly as inmates routinely pull out their penis and masturbate over her. One incident involves an inmate forcibly ripping a colleague’s duty belt off to get into her pants. Drugs, weapons and alcohol are rampant as officers are selling them for quick cash, putting the Informer’s life at risk. After trying to quit nearly four times to “stay in the fight”, she hits rock bottom and hands in her badge at a time when a mass exodus of staff were quitting too.
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Sex and Drugs Inside a Corrupt Rehab Clinic
‘We were always pressured to behave like Disneyland employees…in reality, it was complete chaos’ The Informer reveals what it was like to work in a corrupt rehab facility. The first red flag was being interviewed by someone under the influence, which the Informer quickly realized was a common occurrence. Patients were picking up on-site and staff were even having affairs with each other. Profit was constantly prioritized over patients, with serious consequences on their recovery.
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The Secret Hotel Sex Parties of the Mega-Rich
‘I’ve seen the darker side of humanity’ A Front of House Manager reveals what working in a hotel for the super rich is really like. From hiring out the whole hotel for a ‘themed’ orgie to covering the tracks of staff sleeping with customers, the Informer details how the job can be demanding physically and emotionally. Blood, gore and semen stained walls are all part of the job. Informer is a series where we hear the anonymised confessions and insights of people on the inside of different industries, institutions and events.
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What the Gambling Industry Doesn’t Want You To Know
“It is just rotten to the core.”
A former employee for one of the biggest betting companies reveals the major flaws in the industry, from gambling addictions to money laundering. With over ten years of experience in betting, he has seen just how much the algorithms and systems are designed to encourage losers to lose more, and winners to stop winning. He describes how management has little care for customers, particularly when it comes to losing it all.
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The Gruesome Murders I’ve Encountered Dissecting Bodies
An autopsy technician reveals the gruesome details of his profession – dissecting thousands of bodies in determining their cause of death. He’s dealing with the very thing that nobody wants to deal with… which is death. The Informer has seen a whole plethora of extreme cases – from a woman who has been torn apart and dismembered, a father taking a gun to his children to discovering a vibrator swallowed inside a woman’s stomach. Other horrifying moments include the deadly exposure to meningitis whilst cutting up a brain to having a whole rack of blood and human giblets splash all over him.
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Denver Is Sending Social Workers Instead of Cops to Some 911 Calls
Denver has a new plan for responding to some 911 calls—without police. VICE News looks at how the city is now addressing mental health-related emergencies.
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Meet the Librarians Helping Track California’s Coronavirus Cases
VICE News speaks to librarians in LA who have become contact tracers tasked to help identify and isolate the spread of COVID-19.
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Astrologers Say They Saw 2020 Coming, Here’s What’s Next
In 2020, it seems like every week — or even every day — brings a new, wild twist. So what happens to a profession that’s all about predicting the future? VICE News spoke to astrologers to see if the pandemic really was written in the stars.
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Women Are Being Killed with Impunity in Mexico
In Mexico, gender violence and femicide are on the rise. VICE News speaks with survivors, abusers, the country’s president, and a hitman contracted to kill women.
