The Distortion of Knowledge on Wikipedia Dr. Shira Klein Dr. Shira Klein will deliver the annual Feinstein Lecture on Wednesday, June 26, at 12:30 pm. For the past few years, a group of Wikipedia editors have been spreading disinformation on the history of the Holocaust. With no obvious ties to any government, they slowly but relentlessly hack away at reason and accuracy, and promote a narrative touted by right-wing Polish nationalists. Wikipedia articles spin fantastical tales about Jews’ involvement in large-scale crimes against Poles, and wildly inflate the scope of Jewish collaboration with the Nazis. Editors have tried in vain to change the narrative over the years. How do so few editors—half a dozen at most—get away with twisting the truth in the world’s most-viewed source of information? Dr. Shira Klein, Associate Professor and Chair of History at Chapman University, works in two areas: Italian Jewish history and the digital humanities. Her book Italy’s Jews from Emancipation to Fascism (Cambridge University Press) was a finalist for the 2018 National Jewish Book Award, and is about to be published in Hebrew. Her co-authored article “Wikipedia’s Intentional Distortion of the History of the Holocaust” has surpassed 52,000 views and attracted newspaper coverage in a dozen countries. It, too, is about to be published in Hebrew and Polish. Dr. Klein has received grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, USC Shoah Foundation, and the Barbieri Endowment. About the Feinstein Lecture The Association of Jewish Libraries received a grant from the Foundation for Jewish Culture (FJC) given by the Myer and Rosalind Feinstein family to fund an annual lecture. Lectures on Judaic bibliography and librarianship were delivered at the annual conferences from 1996 to 2010. The FJC is no longer active, but it left AJL with monies to continue these lectures. The Feinstein Lecture resumed at the 2019 AJL conference and will continue to encourage and inspire Judaica librarians at future conferences. Visit jewishlibraries.org/2024-conference <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://jewishlibraries.org/2024-conference/__;!!KGKeukY!2p64RSkUg8jSnmmuoqKQTiyjpxfPMpSeGnKc9HEL5eNdnVQPpmfVkpKIhCpYNCCkui7GYW-rPdHQzttyy0QuHCShPACynup_$ > for more information and to register for AJL Conference 2024: Standing Together.
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