Ferdinand von Schirach: Social media as bad as in Orwell’s “1984”?

The prominent author and lawyer Ferdinand von Schirach (“Guilt”, 60) raises his voice again in a socio-political commentary. This time with a strong warning about the dangers of social media. Their role reminds him of the grotesquely manipulative “Ministry of Truth” in George Orwell’s (1903-1950) dystopian novel “1984” from 1949.

Von Schirach, who was primarily a renowned lawyer before his career as a writer, is known for his legal analyzes of social phenomena. He has been working on what he sees as the devastating effects of social media on people’s thinking and world political events for years in sharp words in public statements and interviews.

“Truth and Reality” on Social Media

In a recent one, under the heading “Truth and Reality”, he demonstrated how even well-documented and cruel events can be called into question by digital disinformation. He begins his article with a detailed and unsparing description of the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists in Israel on October 7, 2023. He relies on extensive research by the New York Times and numerous witness statements that reported murders, torture and systematic sexual violence.

Hamas atrocities as an example of digital reality distortion

Although there are “over 1,500 witness statements and over 60,000 videos – including from the confiscated body cameras of the terrorists” about the massacres on October 7, 2023 in Israel, due to the terrorist propaganda and false information spread via Twitter, TikTok and Co., “over “90 percent of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank say Hamas has not committed atrocities in Israel.”

Social media as bad as Orwell’s “Ministry of Truth”?

After his very explicit description of Hamas atrocities committed, the writer finally draws a disturbing parallel to George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984.” In particular, the idea of ​​the “Ministry of Truth”, which changes reality, or the perception of reality in people’s minds, through targeted language manipulation.

In his opinion piece, Schirach argues that social media plays a similar but far more powerful role today: “Social media is far more powerful than a ‘Ministry of Truth’ could ever be. With the click of a button, victims are turned into perpetrators and perpetrators are turned into victims .” Today the truth seems to be just a matter of opinion, reality seems to “no longer exist, even in the case of the most terrible crimes.”

The author concludes his article with a dark quote from Orwell’s “1984”: “If you want to imagine the future, imagine a boot trampling on a human face – constantly.” Von Schirach adds: “These boots are social media today.”