Rhetoric on Repeat

The top text reads: Ninth Century Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons) the Britons Ithe Welshi were once very populous and exercised extensive dominion from sea to sea. In the centre is a blue painted wavy line. The bottom text reads from the river to the sea. Palestine will be free Palestinian slogan to recognise Palestinian sovereignty

I was recently reading the 9th Century Historia Brittonum (History of the Britons) and noticed this line talking about the loss of Welsh sovereignty over Britain which has a nice echo to that of Palestine

#freepalestine #fromtherivertotheses

A sign at a protest held up in a crowd with an old train station in the background. The sign reads: history has its eyes on you

Excellent showing out from the people of #Naarm / #Melbourne for Palestine 🇵🇸

#freepalestine #herzognotwelcome

The reality is and one that many American academics and experts are unwilling to utter is that these are death camps and just because the ash isn’t falling from the ovens yet doesn’t change that reality.

The use of disease as a weapon of extermination is not new it was a major component of the Nazis systematic slaughter of Jews, Roma, lgbtqia folks and others just as it was used by Americans against native peoples during the cleansing of the country during westward expansion history rhymes

And if you’re in the group of people that likes to listen to information instead!

#history #politics #holocaust #holocausthistory #ai

Preserving the validity of the past and recognising the atrocities that were committed at the time is important for its own sake. It’s also important that we don’t accept attempts to rewrite the past to effect our present and future, and GenAI is really big risk to this.

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One moment of doubt of ‘maybe the horrors are being misinterpreted’ can be the start of the slippery slope that leads you into far-right thinking. Which is exactly what the far-right wants!

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and by consequence trying to effect how people perceive present Nazis

It is a way to spread political messaging and shift peoples mindsets into seeing validity in far-right rhetoric.

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All of these aspects together are attempts to argue that actually, concentration camps weren’t as bad as they were made out to be.

And so it aims to impact the way that people perceive the Nazis, trying to downplay their atrocities in the past (and link into Holocaust conspiracy theories)

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As the UNESCO report on AI and the Holocaust recounts, AI can invent facts about the holocaust, falsify historical evidence, spread hate speech and Holocaust denial, and oversimplify history.

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There are generated images of well-fed prisoners in concentration camps; images that sit in stark opposition to the horrific real photos of incredibly emaciated people.

So what does this do? It’s a form of historical revisionism.

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As a historian, I have a lot of issues with fabricating evidence of history, but that isn’t even my biggest concern!

It’s that some of these AI generated images are actually seeking to rewrite the Holocaust.

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Some recreations may have good intentions; they can be attempts to highlight the gravity of the Holocaust. They can be content farming (so less good intentions but still fairly accurate representations).

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A digital piece of paper, the text reads: genAI is rewriting the Holocaust and why this political historian is concerned for our past, present, and future

Gen-AI is rewriting the Holocaust. I’m very concerned about it, let’s talk about what’s going on and why it’s a risk: 🧵

#ai #genai #history #holocaust #holocausthistory

and this is a planned act against us! Tweet by J.D Vance, 25 January 2026: “this level of engineered choas is unique to Minneapolis. It is the direct consequence of far left agitators working with local authorities.” Excerpt from Edward I’s Letter: “until he [King John of Scotland] and the prelates, earls, barons, nobles, communities and other chief inhabitants of the same realm, by preconceived and pre-arranged malice, and by treachery deliberately planned...wickedly embarking upon the crime of treason, entered into plots” what does this do * paint the opposition as the cause of the danger * suggests the opposition’s actions were not a reaction to their actions but rather planned ill-will. They want to cause harm - why would you side with that?

they started it! Tweet by The White House, Retweeted by Trump, 26 January 2026: “Joe Biden & Dems’ failed leadership opened the door to an invasion by MILLIONS of illegal criminals, tragically costing innocent Americans their lives. ICE is going after the WORST OF THE WORST.” Excerpt from Edward I’s Letter: “Proceeding to hostile attacks and incursions, he invaded our realm and laid waste by fire certain villages...slaughter of our people without number...slaying children in the cradle and women lying in childbed” what does this do * again paints the opposition as the cause of the danger and notes all the death that they are causing through their actions * claims that the actions that they are currently undertaking are to protect their people.

Not only does the opposition not want peace, they are actively causing harm on purpose! In that case, it makes sense to act violently to stop it, right?

It frames actions of violence as a way of protection, making people feel threatened and want to be protected from those harms

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a bit of context Edward’s justification here comes out of a letter that he wrote to the Pope, after the Pope demanded that he stop his war. Edward has been attempting to bring Scotland into his kingdom for over a decade - prior to this, Scotland was an independent nation. The Scots had asked the Pope to intervene.

the other side refuses peace! Tweet by J.D Vance, 25 January 2026: “what the ICE agents wanted more than anything was to work with local law enforcement so that situations on the ground didn’t get out of hand. The local leadership in Minnesota has so far refused those requests.” Excerpt from Edward I’s Letter: we “repeatedly asking John, then king of Scotland, to come to us, at a specific places on the border, to give security upon these and other things, in order to guard the well-being, the tranquility, and the peace of either kingdom...he contumaciously spurned our commands, and continued in his perfidy, and aroused himself to warlike action, turning himself in hostile manner upon us.” what does this do claim that they are working towards peace, but the reason the violence continues is due to their opposition - blame them, not us, for the continued chaos.

A recurring tactic to justify violence is claiming that you’ve tried for peace but it’s those pesky people against you who are refusing to meet in the middle…

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Legitimating Violence In 1301 and 2026 MAGA’s Justification for ICE In Minneapolis And King Edward I of England’s justification for his war on Scotland a comparison by a political historian that focuses on rhetoric and justification in attempts to gain and keep power

History repeats itself - and so does politicians’ language when they’re trying to win people over

MAGA’s rhetoric about violence in Minnesota parallels an English king trying to gain control of Scotland

So what is that language meant to do?

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#medievalhistory #iceout #minneapolis #politics