27 January 2020 Jewish News
www.jewishnews.co.uk
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75th Anniversary Commemorative Edition the photographer taking the shot, and study what was left outside the frame of the image. “While it is an excitingly creative use of technology to reconsider the past, its purpose is chillingly contemporary,” says Marc Cave, interim NHCM chief executive.“The exhibition invites critical thinking. It asks you to understand the visual cunning of the Nazis and how it helped permeate and legitimise antiJewish hate, and to think critically about the same propaganda techniques being used on social media today.” Assistant professor Paul Tennent from the Mixed Reality Lab at Nottingham University’s School of Computer Science put the exhibition together, and said it tested his team on various levels, including ethically. “The challenging context helps us to ask questions about the ethics of reconstructing sensitive scenes,” he says. “VR technology gives us a powerful tool to deliver these experiences in a deeply immersive and embodied way, but we have a responsibility to apply this with care. Everybody in that photo was a real person with emotions and a story to tell. It is not our place to embellish their story, but to tell it as best we can with the tools we have.” Educators are not the only ones with tools: there is a need to protect against the potential for those looking to rewrite history to corrupt testimony. “We have a massive issue with ‘deep-fake’ technology,” Cave said, referring to manipulation of video and audio of politicians or celebrities to make it look as if they said something they never did. Educators have to keep one step ahead with “closed-wall technology” that cannot be messed with. Despite the dangers and opportunities, the idea of using the latest development as the means and not the ends is a recurring theme. “We tend to be attracted to the glittering lights of technology, but what’s important is content,” says Smith. “The way we collect and organise that content, the way we allow the subject to speak about their lives and experiences, is what’s most critical. It’s not about the tech. It’s about how to you tell the story for the closest connection.”
SOCIAL MEDIA SPARKS AWARENESS
Display board for the My Secret Camera photography project
The Eye As Witness creates a ‘mixed reality’ experience
WHEN IT COMES TO THE HOLOCAUST, social media can be a platform for denial, but this month are being leveraged to inform, educate and raise awareness for this year’s special Holocaust Memorial Day. Among the examples is ‘Stand Together’ by Holocaust Memorial Day Trust (HMDT), in which users share the name of someone killed by the Nazis. Those visiting hmd.org.uk/StandTogether are given a name of a victim to share on their social media accounts, “standing together with thousands of others to honour the memory of individuals”. HMDT is also using Twitter to share hundreds of real-life stories of those affected by the Holocaust, Nazi persecution and more recent genocides, as this “often reaches a completely different audience to those who would usually see this kind of content”. Facebook is also getting involved. It has worked with Yad Vashem to promote the iRemember Wall on its platform. Each participant is randomly linked to the name of one of 4.8 million Jewish men, women and children in Yad Vashem’s archive. They can then share the individual they have been paired with via Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. Among the eye-catching efforts to get influencers and others to share posts is the ‘Stop this Story’ campaign. Participants write ‘Stop this story’ on their palm then post photos of themselves holding their hand out. Those joining in include model Bar Refaeli, actress Vanessa Kirby (from The Crown) and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (above). “The best way to spread any message today is through social media,” said Moshe Kantor of the World Holocaust Forum Foundation and European Jewish Congress. “Instagram users are a significant demographic segment that is growing rapidly. Creating awareness of antisemitism is the first step necessary to stopping it.”
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