Memory hole

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For the article on computer memory see: memory hole (computer science)

The memory hole, as in the phrase "Going down the memory hole," refers to George Orwell's novel, 1984.

In the novel, the memory hole is a slot into which government officials deposit politically inconvenient documents and records for destruction. 1984's protagonist Winston Smith, who works in the Ministry of Truth, is routinely assigned the task of revising old newspaper articles in order to serve the propaganda interests of the government. For example, if the government had pledged that the chocolate ration would not fall below the current 30 grams per week, but in fact the ration is reduced to 20 grams per week, the historical record (e.g. an article from a back issue of the Times newspaper) is revised to contain an announcement that a reduction to 20 grams might soon prove necessary. The original copies of that historical record are deposited into the memory hole.

The term now generally refers to the alteration or outright disappearance of inconvenient or embarrassing documents, photographs, transcripts, or other records, such as from a web site or other archive.

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External links

  • thememoryhole.org is a web site that "exists to preserve and spread material that is in danger of being lost, is hard to find, or is not widely known," especially material kept under wraps by the US government.
  • Internet Archive's Wayback Machine keeps large searchable copies of much of the internet over time.
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