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RTLM weaponized everyday media into a genocidal trigger.

“It’s evil genius... you entertain the killers, so they forget the guilt.” – Genocide survivor

This isn’t unique to Rwanda.

It mirrors what philosopher Hannah Arendt observed during the Nazi era. She warned us about the “banality of evil”—the terrifying idea that atrocities aren’t always committed by monsters. Sometimes, they’re done by average people doing their job, following the crowd, obeying the system.

Arendt argued:

Modern life reduces people to economic roles (producer, consumer)
Systems often discourage deep thinking or moral reflection
When we stop thinking critically, we start obeying blindly
Evil doesn’t need rage—it just needs people to stop questioning

She called this “thoughtlessness,” and said it’s one of the greatest dangers in any society.

In Rwanda, media made people stop thinking. The music softened their conscience. The voices on the radio told them who the enemy was. The guilt was offloaded. The identity became: “I’m just doing what everyone else is doing.”

Now ask yourself:

Could modern social media feed the same conformity today?
What happens when hate goes viral, and people follow to fit in?
Who’s holding the machete—and who’s holding the algorithm?

The challenge is clear:

The challenge is clear: we must design systems that disrupt disinformation and crowdthink—so people think ethically before they follow blindly.

That’s your quest.