In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, what is the protagonist Winston Smith's job?

In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, Winston Smith works as a records editor. He is employed by the Ministry of Truth, where he alters historical documents to match the Party's current claims.

Winston's job involves rewriting newspapers, speeches, and other records. When the Party changes an economic forecast or political position, he helps remove evidence that the earlier version ever existed. The work illustrates the novel's idea that controlling the past helps control public belief.

Winston is not a journalist in the modern independent sense. He works inside a bureaucratic propaganda system and secretly dislikes the regime he serves. His occupation also explains why he understands the practical mechanics of censorship better than many citizens.

The Ministry of Truth is one of four ministries in Oceania. Its name is deliberately ironic: it handles propaganda, records, entertainment, and historical revision rather than objective truth.