Acting on historically offensive content in BMJ’s archive

How should we deal with published content that may be offensive or harmful? New or recently published articles attract the most attention from readers. They are also published in an era when peer reviewers and editors should be sensitised to potentially offensive content, whether, for example, on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, geography, or culture. Mistakes and offences can still occur, but they are more likely to be quickly identified and corrected given the immediacy and visibility of the internet and social media.But what of content that was published many years ago, possibly at a time when the language may not have been considered offensive? Some of the challenges of dealing with historical content mirror those of dealing with historical figures, artefacts, and records that are a product of their time and society.Removing offensive content seems an attractive way of righting wrongs and preventing harm. However, for…
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