REALITY is changing – faster now than ever. 

The spectre of the metaverse is looming large and the age of the quantum computer is right around the corner. Developments in artificial intelligence are yesterday’s news. Simulated experiences in virtual and augmented environments, where real and digitally generated content are combined, are altering the very fabric of our existence. 

And it really is happening. Our museums, galleries, and cultural institutions are moving online. Video games are disseminating history. Battle lines are being drawn and a new class struggle is unfolding in worlds of wire.

In fact, just a few months ago, Epic Games, the developer and publisher of the multi-platform, sandbox game, Fortnite Creative, invited over 239 million of its players to visit a virtual Holocaust museum. 

Created by the British game designer, Luc Bernard, and entitled Voices of the Forgotten, it features photographs and texts, as well as a “Historical Figures” section on a mezzanine floor, which includes the Armenian poet Missak Manouchian and the famous American-born French actress Josephine Baker. 

That the former was a communist and the latter a socialist goes unmentioned – an apparent redaction which reoccurs elsewhere. 

Even Willem Arondeus, the Dutch communist who took part in the bombing of Amsterdam’s public records to hinder the Gestapo’s search for Jews, is divested of his political beliefs; although other aspects of his life, such as his sexuality, are fairly acknowledged and explored. 

Meanwhile, Jewish communists and Jewish communist organisations, like Solidarite, are neglected completely. The Red Army isn’t referenced anywhere either. Indeed, young visitors will likely go away with the impression only US soldiers liberated concentration camps in Europe. 

If it’s not quite historical revisionism, it’s getting dangerously close. 
    
On the other hand, Luc Bernard’s efforts to subvert the pure entertainment value of the Fortnite franchise and provide a virtual space for challenging Holocaust denial have to be commended. Better a selective truth, one might say, than no truth at all. 

Still, one can’t help but wonder; will we see a virtual museum dedicated to the Palestinian victims of Israeli genocide? Certainly it’s unlikely that Tim Sweeney, the multi-billionaire CEO of Epic Games, who once claimed “companies need to divorce [themselves] from politics,” would support such an enterprise. 

That said, the video games industry is maturing quickly and it’s only a matter of time before the floodgates burst. Game developers are as angry as everybody else and smaller, leaner, independent working-class development studios are finding their feet, embracing fresh perspectives and radical agendas. 

It’s early days, for sure, but a storm is coming. 

Until then, I’d recommend that readers take a virtual trip to the Museum of the Palestinian People in Washington DC – you can explore it all online, for free, and you don’t need a fancy headset. It might not be as immersive as an “in-game” virtual museum but you’ll find a lot of information there, carefully prepared by an accredited curator.
    
And that really is a keyword: “accredited.” 

Nowadays, anyone with the requisite 3D modelling skills can build themselves a Louvre or a British Museum, either in an official capacity, like Luc Bernard, or as an unpaid modder. I must confess, I’ve done it too; in 2020, in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and Bohemia Interactive, I constructed the Lars Blanken Gallery; a virtual museum, showcasing community artwork on the theme of Cultural Property for the military simulation game, Arma 3. 

Despite some research and consultation, I can’t pretend to be an expert. I’ve never taken a course in inclusive curational practices and part of me has to question if it’s acceptable to blur the lines and mix educative commentary with play. The familiar and authoritative context of a museum lends legitimacy to what we see and read, and this extends to displays in digital settings. 

Psychologically, many of us are primed to trust what we learn in public spaces and this can easily be exploited. Moreover, for virtual museums that exist only in games or online, there’s no Museums Association or Ethics Committee. 

Truth in the metaverse is up for grabs and the future, it seems, is already here. Reality is changing – yes. But tomorrow’s world will be what we make it.