Channel 4 viewers have been left uncomfortable after watching a social experiment exploring attitudes towards disabled people, with one saying they could manage only 20 minutes of the new documentary.
Presented by disability advocate Sophie Morgan and actor Mat Fraser, The Experiment puts members of the public's views to the test. Its broadcast on October 21 prompted a wave of reactions on social media.
Inside The Experiment
Members of the public are invited into a fake care facility called SegriLife, which employs methods influenced by the Nazi regime, repackaged as progressive care. The visitors are genuine people who applied to feature on a television programme, while the residents are all actors.
Mat and Sophie watch on from a control room as visitors tour the facility and share their opinions on the disturbing treatment of disabled residents. The presenters were keen to test whether the British public could be persuaded "to believe that disabled people are disposable, or less deserving of a place in society".
Viewer Reactions
Those who missed the documentary can stream it on Channel 4's on-demand service, but viewers who caught it on broadcast are already hailing it as "essential viewing". One person took to X to share their thoughts, writing: "#TheExperiment on channel 4 ... very insightful to watch," reports the Mirror.
Another added: "This was really hard to watch but really good #theExperiment," while a third commented: "Just watched #TheExperiment on Channel 4. Absolutely mind blowing. So upsetting."
A fourth viewer commented: "Interesting experiment to carry out. Perceptions of disabled people are so negative and need to be challenged. Unconscious bias and disability awareness training should be in schools #TheExperiment."
However, some viewers have confessed they found the social experiment difficult to watch. One stated: "Could only watch for 20 minutes. It was so uncomfortable. Being born disabled I've had to deal with so much stuff like this."
Presenters' Statement
Prior to the programme's broadcast, Sophie and Mat released a joint statement highlighting the significance of their new project. It reads: "It was important for us to finally bring the catastrophic history of Aktion T4 and the Nazis' persecution of disabled people to our television screens.
"But more importantly we wanted to test whether the British public could be persuaded by similar propaganda today, to believe that disabled people are disposable, or less deserving of a place in society."
They added: "These are extremely disturbing times for our community, with disability rights under threat in the UK and around the world.
"It is reminiscent of a time many of us would rather forget, but this programme shows that the chances of repeating the past are far higher than we think. Peering behind the veil of the public perception of disability isn't for the faint-hearted, but this is essential viewing."
The Experiment is available to stream on Channel 4.
