In the digital age, governments and individuals alike harness online platforms to spread misinformation, manipulate narratives, and obscure historical truths surrounding mass atrocities. This edited volume explores how the internet has evolved into a powerful instrument for both state and non-state actors seeking to deny or distort genocides worldwide. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks and empirical research, Shattered Truths examines key questions at the intersection of technology, memory, and propaganda: How does genocide denial function in today's interconnected digital environment? In what ways do various actors strategically employ online tools to disseminate falsehoods and falsify historical accounts of specific genocides? What types of websites and digital infrastructures are used to amplify these messages and expand their reach? The chapters also delve into how denialists capitalize on the viral dynamics of major social media platforms--including X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, Reddit, and Wikipedia--to inject denialist narratives into the public sphere. Shattered Truths brings together leading scholars from across disciplines to add to the body of genocide scholarship that is challenged by denialist literature. By uncovering the mechanisms and strategies behind digital genocide denial, this volume offers critical insights into one of the most troubling dimensions of contemporary information warfare.
Bedross Der Matossian is a professor of history at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the author, editor, or coeditor of nine books dealing with political history and mass violence and its denial, including Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century (Nebraska, 2026). Der Matossian was awarded a 2026 fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
"Of all the atrocities that hide beneath the political subordination of reality, there is none more odious than genocide. With today's digital post-truth tactics, genocide deniers have found not just another tool for their toolbelt--they have found a flamethrower. Bedross Der Matossian's Shattered Truths is a monumental achievement, bringing these tactics to light and, one hopes, helping others to recognize that the slaughter of innocents often walks hand in hand with the death of truth."--Lee McIntyre, author of Post-Truth "The subject of Shattered Truths is of critical urgency as the problem of genocide denial on digital platforms is increasing exponentially. The rise of the internet and digital platforms have contributed to the unprecedented speed and proliferation of denial. The lack of regulation of the digital space allows denial to spread with no consequence, and the implications of this are profound. The collection is diverse in its approaches, and it covers significant ground."--Jelena Subotic, author of Yellow Star, Red Star: Holocaust Remembrance after Communism
