On our first episode of season four, we are joined by Katie Paul, an anthropologist and research analyst whose work centers on the destruction and displacement of cultural heritage. Her research focuses on the channels through which looted heritage moves, and the connections between looted heritage and international terrorism and crime. Katie’s work in the Antiquities Trafficking and Heritage Anthropology Research (or ATHAR) Project and as director of the Tech Transparency Project highlights the part social media plays in the illicit antiquities trade, and the challenges that monitoring and stopping the illegal sale of cultural properties is facing in an increasingly digital world. Before her work on the ATHAR Project and her affiliated research role with The Day After Heritage Protection Initiative (TDA-HPI), Katie served as the chief of staff and a research fellow at the Antiquities Coalition in Washington, D.C. She is also a co-founder of the Alliance to Counter Crime Online (ACCO), an organization aimed at combating internet-based criminal activity in any form. Throughout her work, Katie examines the role of Big Tech platforms in amplifying terrorism, domestic extremism, and transnational crime.
Listen in, as Katie discusses the role of Facebook in the illicit antiquities trade, and how the company has been complicit in the sale and destruction of cultural heritage.
Interested in more information? Check out these publications from Katie Paul and colleagues.
Al Azm, Amr, and Katie A. Paul. 2019. “Facebook’s Black Market in Antiquities: Trafficking, Terrorism, and War Crimes.” ATHAR Project.
Al-Azm, Amr, and Katie Paul. 2022. “Facebook’s Flawed Plan to End Antiquities Trafficking.” Foreign Affairs. .
Al Azm, Amr, and Katie A. Paul. 2018. “How Facebook Made It Easier Than Ever to Traffic Middle Eastern Antiquities.” World Politics Review.
Presentation on the ATHAR Project by Katie Paul, Everyday Orientalism panel on Ancient Studies, Heritage, and War. The ATHAR Project is also profiled in the Artifact War documentary by Mystery Box.
Looking for a transcript of this episode? Click here.
(photo K. Paul)
(photo K. Paul)
Academic Publications
Al-Azm, A. 2023. “The Threat to Cultural Heritage in Times of Conflict and Its Dynamic Relationship with Gulf Society.” Social Change in the Gulf Region. Gulf Studies, vol 8. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-7796-1_16
Al-Azm, A. 2017. “The Importance of Cultural Heritage in Enhancing a Syrian National Identity and the Role of Local Non-State Actors in Preserving It.” Post-Conflict Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 1st edition. Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315472737
Borodkin, Lisa J. 1995. “The Economics of Antiquities Looting and a Proposed Legal Alternative.” Columbia Law Review 95, no. 2: 377–417. https://doi.org/10.2307/1123233.
Campbell, Peter. 2013. The Illicit Antiquities Trade as a Transnational Criminal Network: Characterizing and Anticipating Trafficking of Cultural Heritage. International Journal of Cultural Property. 20. 10.1017/S0940739113000015.
Votey, Maxwell. 2022. “Illicit Antiquities and the Internet: The Trafficking of Heritage on Digital Platforms.” New York University Journal of International Law and Politics 54. https://www.guariniglobal.org/votey-illicit-antiquities.
Open Access Resources
Al-Azm, Amr. 2015. “Why ISIS Wants to Destroy Syria’s Cultural Heritage.” Time. https://time.com/4065290/syria-cultural-heritage/.
Al Azm, Amr, and Katie A. Paul. 2018. “With Facebook’s Help, Middle East Antiquities Trafficking Enters the Digital Age.” World Politics Review. https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/with-facebook-s-help-middle-east-antiquities-trafficking-enters-the-digital-age/
Arraf, Jane. 2020. “Facebook Has Moved To Ban Sales Of Looted Antiquities. Will It Make A Difference?” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2020/07/31/896180883/facebook-has-moved-to-ban-sales-of-looted-antiquities-will-it-make-a-difference.
TTP Report on Human Smuggling (discussed in the episode)
TTP Report on Drug Smuggling (discussed in the episode)UN Investigation into Facebook’s Role in the Myanmar Crisis
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