#FakeImages

Thousands of messages and images come to us every day. They flood us through various channels, such as social media, television, and the printed press. But do these messages and images always tell the truth? Fake news and fake images invariably sneak in - sometimes they are innocent mistakes (misinformation), sometimes they are extremely dangerous because they are deliberately misleading (disinformation). Propaganda, stereotypes and conspiracy theories transmit disinformation and fake news. One reason why fake news and fake images are so dangerous is that people often do not know how to spot the lies being presented as truth, the fake being presented as reality... Stereotypical ideas and conspiracy theories about Jews, Roma, migrants, LGBTQIA+ people, and other groups poison society. But these false notions are not new. During the Second World War, for example, antisemitic propaganda was highly effective in using stereotypes and conspiracy mongering to create a false image of Jewish people. The Nazis and their collaborators used this propaganda to facilitate a genocide of unprecedented proportions. #FakeImages exposes how such a false image was, and still is, created. Arthur Langerman, a Belgian survivor of the Holocaust, has been collecting antisemitic drawings, posters and objects for over 60 years. His collection is a response to the horrors of the Nazi attempt to annihilate Jewish people and communities. The collection seeks to illuminate one of the deadly ways in which lies facilitated the Holocaust. Mr. Langerman's collection forms the basis for the historical part of the #FakeImages exhibition and catalogue. #FakeImages presents antisemitic images from across the centuries, with a strong focus on propaganda before and during the Second World War, and its impact on the Holocaust. #FakeImages also highlights the mechanisms of manipulation that continue to have a major impact on contemporary ideas and on society. The exhibition and catalogue show how to identify and dismantle contemporary fake images, and why this matters for everyone.