“Lively and disturbing. Lombroso did his homework, embedding himself with these people for several years, so that he won their trust and became privy to their private lives. “White Noise” is a deadly serious movie, but it is also, in a certain way, a funny one, because it captures the comedy of how much trouble even the influencers of hate now have squaring their lives with their belief systems. It takes reality to create characters as rivetingly contemptible as these.”

— Owen Gleiberman,

“Grade: A. A queasily riveting documentary that puts the audience far closer than comfort to some of the worst people in the world, ‘White Noise’ builds a template for how in the modern media landscape, the need to confront and make noise can overlap with greed and narcissism to create deadly results. Rather than present a sweeping portrait of the alt-right, he shrewdly picks three of its showier spokespeople—Richard Spencer, Lauren Southern, and Mike Cernovic—and follows what happens as infamy, infighting, and the consequences of their hate speech takes its toll on both its progenitors and the world they inflict themselves on.”

— Chris Barsanti,

“Luridly fascinating. The intimate portrait of these shameless provocateurs sheds a much-needed spotlight, especially for those who remain ignorant of the most rabid right-wing media.”

— Frank Scheck,

“White Noise, the first feature-length documentary from The Atlantic, often plays more like it was sprung from the mind of Christopher Guest.”

— Lauren Wissot,

“A scathing damnation of white supremacy and hypocrisy. Amore timely documentary there might not be the rest of this year. Among theyear’s best movies.”

— Eric Althoff,

“The documentary is about more than the alt-right; it’s an examination of the ugly underbelly of our technological age. Its characters are, after all, all creatures of the internet, and their followers are disproportionately composed of isolated young people searching for a sense of belonging in an online ecosystem of forums, YouTube channels and message boards. As an especially disturbing phenomenon, the alt-right is unique; but as a manifestation of the widespread inclination to find purpose in a political community, it’s merely one particularly vile manifestation of a universally felt impulse.”

— Nate Hockman,

““White Noise” has the time to present a more revealing picture of the con than those who traffic in sound bites would probably like the world to see. Lombroso captures the exhaustion that comes with empty provocation. “White Noise” is worthwhile in showing its subjects for who they are.”

— Stephen Saito,

“Careful, expertly developed.Lombroso’s strategy is patient, and ruthless. He listens to these racists, spending long periods with them to better understand their lifestyles. We slowly start to see that they all kind of hate and resent each other; these fissures are at the heart of this movement’s moral and intellectual rot.”

— Alan Zilberman,

“White Noise chilled me to the bone. Director Daniel Lombroso takes a very clear-eyed approach to the subject, utilizing unprecedented access to show the movement for what it is—an effort to launch a full-on culture war, driven by people whose anger and media savvy is matched by their opportunism. Despite refraining from overt commentary most of the time, the last couple minutes of White Noise poignantly pull together the results of recent alt-right messaging.”

— Mike McGranaghan,

“There have been several documentaries made about the ideological conditions that laid the ground for the Trump era, but White Noise may be the most illuminating.”

— Stephen Silver,