Breaking the News exhibition shows Edward Snowden’s smashed drives

Breaking the News, a new exhibition at the British Library, London, explores the ways news shapes our society and how our consumption of world affairs has transformed over five centuries of publication in the UK. New Scientist visited the show ahead of its opening and saw first-hand the objects and publications representing some of the biggest global news stories, from the Battle of Flodden between England and Scotland in 1513 to whistleblower Edward Snowden‘s hard drive, and the reporting of war and the current pandemic. The exhibition runs until 21 August at the British Library and then at more than 30 public libraries across the UK.