“History is written by the victors” except on Wikipedia, as your enemies are still alive & have lots of time on their hands – Elon Musk Latest Tweet

Elon Musk today tweeted “History is written by the victors” except on Wikipedia, as your enemies are still alive & have lots of time on their hands.

“History is written by the victors” except on Wikipedia, as your enemies are still alive & have lots of time on their hands 🤣🤣

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 24, 2021

“History is written by the victors,” according to one of the most unpleasant and frequently accepted notions about historical thinking. This talking point claims that historical truth is shaped not by reasoned interpretive historical scholarship or a factual understanding of the past, but by the power of political and cultural leaders on the “winning” side of history; the “winners” have the power to shape historical narratives through school textbooks, public iconography, movies, and a variety of other mediums. To be sure, these platforms are effective tools for forming political beliefs and influencing personal perspectives on how the world works. And it is undeniably true that governmental or “official” bodies can and do use this power for their own purposes.

Historian John Bodnar examines the concept of “official cultural expressions” that try to mould how people remember the past in his book Remaking America: Public Memory, Commemoration, and Patriotism in the Twentieth Century. These utterances come from social leaders and official authorities who want to influence society’s historical perspective in ways that support “social unity, continuity of current institutions, and status quo allegiance” (13). In other words, those in power want to keep their power, and a “useable past” that corresponds to their perception of current situations can be a powerful instrument in keeping their position.

It is a fallacy, however, to believe that only history’s “winners” have the power to influence the past in order to achieve their current objectives.

This is especially true in an age when the internet gives anybody from any walk of life the ability to create a powerful platform for expressing their thoughts and opinions. We must abandon the myth that history is written only by the winners.