History Disrupted: Is social media hijacking the past or enhancing the future?

Before social media and citizen journalism became mainstream, the power to control what was accepted as history rested with a select few. But in the last two decades content about the past on platforms like Tik Tok, YouTube, X, and Facebook has grown so omnipresent that it has changed what is accepted as historical fact right before our eyes. Can this proliferation of online information result in a better understanding of history? Silicon Valley’s algorithms and limited content moderation have enabled dubious ideas of history to go viral, granting influence, credibility, and authority, often advancing agendas with no basis in fact. This panel will provide the keys to understanding how the Web and social media shape what we know about ourselves and our past, and the tools for filmmakers to engage in correcting the digital record.