The Unfiltered History Tour: AR Rewrites British Museum Narratives

The British Museum's contested artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone, Parthenon Marbles, and Benin Bronzes, are given alternative histories through a new augmented reality project called The Unfiltered History Tour. Created by Dentsu Webchutney and VICE World News, the free virtual tour uses Instagram filters activated by scanning objects via geolocation. Users access AR content and expert voices from native communities, revealing how ten key artifacts arrived at the museum. The project is also available via a dedicated website and Spotify podcast. It challenges the museum's institutional narrative by presenting the perspective of colonized peoples who fought to protect their cultural treasures. A poll conducted weeks after the launch found that 59% of Britons now believe the Parthenon Marbles belong to Greece.