Global Digital Museum Narratives: Representation, Authorship, and Audiences

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of online platforms, transforming how we communicate and share stories globally. Museums, forced to close during this period, shifted their activities online, making digital resources and exhibitions more relevant to everyone. Research has shown a significant shift towards digital initiatives in museums during the pandemic, but also has questioned their preparedness and the degree of innovation of their digital initiatives. Concurrently, the pandemic resurfaced social and geopolitical inequalities, exemplified by the global response to George Floyd's murder and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement. These events raise important questions about the role of museums and their online presence in addressing societal challenges. What stories are museums presenting? Where do these stories originate, and from what perspectives are they told? Who are their intended audiences? This chapter adopts digital narratology—a theory that studies digital narratives and storytelling—to interrogate the effectiveness of museums digital resources to truly support social justice.