Ancient Rome Didn’t Exist, Claims a Qualified Bachelor of History

Teens might tell you that TikTok is a comfort zone where they can discuss relevant issues free from adult judgement because all other teens are going through the same thing. Closer to reality perhaps, from a young age, people like being recognized for their talents and TikTok and other social media platforms offer a ready-built stage for aspiring narcissists.

Genius Claims Rome was ‘A Metaphor’

@momllennial_ is a TikToker, whose real name is registered as ´Donna D2.’ Since joining the platform in July 2020 the user has amassed almost 94,000 followers, and almost 2 million likes. Claiming to have a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and history, the TikToker has made several pseudo-history videos. Most recently, on November 16, she claimed ancient Rome ‘wasn’t real’ and went so far as to compare it with Disney, triggering historians from all around the world to jump in to refute the influencer’s claims.

The video clip has been watched almost 90,000 times. However, the woman didn’t get the attention she so desired, for the comments are predominantly people calling her what she rightfully is – ‘a troll.’ Then, on November 23, she posted a follow-up video that achieved another 100,000 views. ‘Rome was a metaphor,’ this time, and Greece was the ‘power player’ between the 4th and 2nd century BC, not Rome.

@momllennial_

Reply to @venuscupidfollyandtime Rome. Isn’t. Real. #fyp #fypシ #ancienthistory #deconstruction #BetterTogetherChallenge #PlutoTVDecades

♬ Steven Universe – L.Dre

Screw History, I Need Love

Suggesting ancient Rome ‘didn’t exist’ online is like wearing a peacock feather dress to a ball. While it’s totally tasteless, bordering on vulgar, everyone’s going to look. Inside Hook explained that Donna D2 said Rome was ‘a figment of the Spanish inquisition’s imagination,’ and that not ‘a single extant Roman document or primary document,’ had ever been discovered.

The big question in all this nonsense is how on earth can someone like this be awarded a bachelor’s degree from a university that charges hundreds of thousands of dollars for that qualification? Is it true? Are universities in the US really this broken? How could a Bachelor of History not know about the aerarium Saturni, on the Capitoline Hill in the heart of Rome, which served as the central documents repository of Republican Rome?

Roman writing tablet from the Vindolanda Roman fort of Hadrian's Wall, in Northumberland (1st-2nd century AD). Tablet 343: Letter from Octavius to Candidus concerning supplies of wheat, hides and sinews. (Michel wal/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Roman writing tablet from the Vindolanda Roman fort of Hadrian’s Wall, in Northumberland (1st-2nd century AD). Tablet 343: Letter from Octavius to Candidus concerning supplies of wheat, hides and sinews. (Michel wal/ CC BY-SA 3.0 )

How Greedy Professors Killed University Education

Life Hack recently published the headline ‘ 5 Reasons Why Your New Bachelor’s Degree Is Worthless.’ The article points out that many professors are ‘far more interested in tenure and their research than they are about making sure you get the best education they can possibly give you.’ Furthermore, the professors grade students ‘on curves so you can’t possibly fail,’ and the curriculum never changes.

A study published in the Daily Herald demonstrated that ‘45% of students are no better at critical thinking, complex reasoning, and writing after their sophomore year than they were when they began.’ This is made very clear in the case of @momllennial_ and her public show.

Lie After Lie

Professor Maxwell T. Paule is an ancient and classical studies professor at Earlham College in Indiana. With over 145,000 TikTok followers himself, he refuted Donna D2’s lies that an old Roman document was actually Greek. Pointing out that the document is ‘clearly written in Latin,’ Dr. Paule called the attention seeker ‘a ‘conspiracy theorist’.

@profmaxwell

A stitch with @momllennial_ . #conspiracy #Latin #Greek

♬ original sound – Maxwell T Paule

Sadly, while academics wasted their time debunking the claims, including her suggestion that Hadrian’s wall in Britain ‘wasn’t Roman,’ nobody had bothered to look back at the TikToker’s track record. In June she claimed Alexander the Great was actually a woman and in October another of her videos claimed Jesus Christ could be translated to ‘clitoris healer.’ Isn’t this all just really horrid? Furthermore, you really wouldn’t want your children to meet this history graduate in a classroom!

The view along Hadrian's Wall towards Housesteads Roman Fort. (CC BY-NC 2.0) One of the TikToker’s claims is that Hadrian’s wall in Britain ‘wasn’t Roman.’

The view along Hadrian’s Wall towards Housesteads Roman Fort. ( CC BY-NC 2.0 ) One of the TikToker’s claims is that Hadrian’s wall in Britain ‘wasn’t Roman.’

Top Image: Detail of ‘ Pollice Verso (Thumbs Down)’ by Jean-Léon Gérôme. Source: Public Domain

By Ashley Cowie

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