Mykola Makhortykh


Dr Mykola Makhortykh is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Communication and Media Research at the University of Bern. His research focuses on how online platforms and algorithmic systems impact remembrance of mass atrocities, in particular the Holocaust.

Mykola Makhortykh

Mykola has an interdisciplinary background, which combines history, communication science, data science, and computer science. He received BA in History and MA in Archaeology at the Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University, a joint MA degree in Euroculture at the University of Göttingen and Jagiellonian University in Cracow, and a BA in Computer Science at the University of the People.

After completing his PhD at the University of Amsterdam on the interactions between Second World War remembrance and online platforms in Eastern Europe, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher in Data Science at the Amsterdam School of Communication Science and Institute of Information Law, where he studied algorithmic (un)fairness in recommender systems.


Project description

Algorithmic turn in Holocaust memory transmission: Challenges, opportunities, threats

The project examines the implications of the growing use of algorithmic systems for storing, retrieving, and filtering Holocaust-related content by research institutions and online platforms. Ranging from archival content retrieval mechanisms to platform recommendation systems to web search engines, these systems are integral for informing societies and individuals about the Holocaust. By offering new opportunities for Holocaust memory transmission, algorithmic systems can facilitate formation of cosmopolitan memory of past atrocities. This is important for countering the rise of antisemitism and right-wing populism. However, the deployment of algorithms is associated with multiple technical and ethical challenges as well as threats to availability and integrity of Holocaust-related information. Using a mixed-method approach, the project aims to assess the algorithmic turn in Holocaust memory transmission by scrutinizing challenges, opportunities, and threats associated with it.

Explore what we do

Remember the Holocaust

Fight antisemitism

Strengthen democracy

Share on Twitter
Twitter
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Share by email
Share-mail
Copy link
Link Copied
Copy link
Back
back arrow