Digitally mediated Holocaust denial and distortion remains a critical contemporary problem. The cheap connectivity offered by the internet has allowed those with extreme views to find each other easily, and to express hateful opinions which they might keep silent in their offline lives. Such online spaces often lack counter narratives, forming echo chambers whereby viewpoints and opinions become progressively more radicalised. And hateful narratives are closely linked to the problem of dis- and misinformation, with fringe conspiracy theories and misleading evidence being critical in the support of hateful belief systems, of which denial and distortion of the Holocaust is a highly prominent example.
In this project, we will conduct a detailed empirical study of Holocaust denial and distortion online. The aim of the project is to rigorously measure the scale of the problem, to raise awareness of particular types of argumentation which are circulating (for example, particular types of distortion or reasons given for denial), and to shed light on the different platforms and areas which are hosting the content.
The findings will go into a report co-authored with UNESCO about the scale and nature of Holocaust denial and distortion.
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