Hackaday

Marion Stokes recorded television continuously for 33 years (1979-2012), amassing 70,000 VHS and Betamax tapes to combat disinformation and preserve media history. A former librarian and political activist, she feared networks would erase content and that media manipulation could enable authoritarianism. Using up to 8 VCRs simultaneously, she captured 24/7 news coverage and various programs, funded by early Apple stock investments. After her death, the Internet Archive acquired the collection—420,000 hours of footage packed in four shipping containers—and continues digitizing it as of 2025.

Marion Stokes Fought Disinformation With VCRs