Fighting the clickbait culture: why telling real history matter to me In today’s fast paced digital world, history is no longer confined to textbooks and museums - it’s filtered through social media posts, Instagram reels, and viral TikToks. While this to some extent allows more people to access information, it also presents one of history’s greatest modern challenges: the challenge of misinformation. In a culture driven by likes, shares, and algorithms, truth often takes a backseat to entertainment. This is why I believe fighting the clickbait culture and defending real, nuanced history is not just important - it’s personal.
A recent study by Generation Lab found that nearly one in five young adults believe the Holocaust is a hoax. Even more disturbingly, young people who consume their news primarily through TikTok are significantly more likely to hold anti-Semitic beliefs. This is not just innocent ignorance - it’s the product of unchecked conspiracy theories being spread and consumed with alarming ease. The issue reached its pinnacle when the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and University of Pennsylvania were called before a congressional hearing after refusing to condemn student calls for a genocide of Jews as harassment. This is not just a problem confined to Ivy League campuses - the same poll showed that belief Holocaust denial is shockingly consistent across all levels of education. Around 20% of 18 to 29 year olds think the holocaust was made up. This is half a generation at risk of forgetting, or outright denying, one of the greatest atrocities in human history.
This issue matters deeply to me because history is not just about dates or dead people. It is about understanding how the world came to be the way it is and how we can stop history from repeating itself. Misrepresenting it does not just affect our knowledge of the past, it distorts how we view the present and affects our decisions about the future. If we are engaging with the past through 30-second videos, we lose the human stories that make it meaningful.
I have always wanted to play a role in tackling this problem. For me, this starts with critical thinking. Instead of accepting historical claims at face value, I ask questions. Who is telling this story? What is their source? What might be missing? What is their purpose of writing this source? I believe doing this is essential and diminishes bias. This is why I am passionate about making real history more accessible. Whether it is through writing, discussion, or even short YouTube videos of my own, I want to bring thoughtful perspectives to places where young people look already.
Ultimately, history is too important to be left to algorithms. We need to defend the truth, not just for the sake of facts but for the sake of understanding how we came to be. In a world where misinformation is ubiquitous, telling real history is an act of resistance - one I
am proud to take part in.
