Wikipedia:Press coverage 2024
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Wikipedia in the press |
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Since its inception in 2001, Wikipedia has garnered substantial media attention. The following is a list of the project's press coverage received in 2024, sorted chronologically. Per WP:PRESS, this page excludes coverage exclusively on a single WP-article, coverage of (some aspect of) the project overall is wanted.
January
- Long, Katherine; Newsham, Jack; Parakul, Narimes (January 6, 2024). "Academic celebrity Neri Oxman plagiarized from Wikipedia, scholars, a textbook, and other sources without any attribution". Business Insider. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
It's not surprising that Oxman wouldn't credit Wikipedia in her doctoral dissertation: While Wikipedia is generally accurate, anyone can edit it, so teachers regularly tell their students that they should not cite the website as an authority.
- Hamilton, Fiona (January 7, 2024). "How Wikipedia is being changed to downgrade Iranian human rights atrocities". The Times. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
In one case, key details were removed about the Iranian regime's mass executions. The fact that current senior officials in the regime were involved in the 1988 death commissions, in which thousands of political prisoners were killed, was also deleted.
- Rissman, Kelly (January 7, 2024). "Bill Ackman says lifting from Wikipedia is not plagiarism after his wife's work questioned". The Independent. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
Is this plagiarism?" Mr Ackman asked on X. "Let's assume that in writing her dissertation Neri used Wikipedia as a dictionary for these terms and it is deemed to be plagiarism, does it any way affect the quality and originality of the research in her dissertation? I think that's worth an important discussion among the experts.
- Oeberst, Aileen; Ridderbecks, Till (January 7, 2024). "How article category in Wikipedia determines the heterogeneity of its editors". Nature. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
Collaboration is not a safeguard of quality per se, however. Rather, the quality of Wikipedia articles rises with the number of editors per article as well as a greater diversity among them. Here, we address a not yet documented potential threat to those preconditions: self-selection of Wikipedia editors to articles.
- Kessel, Zach (January 8, 2024). "Wikipedia's Arabic-Language Site Spreads Anti-Israel Propaganda". National Review. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
At the top of each page on the Arabic-language version of Wikipedia is a black banner showing the Wikipedia globe logo enveloped with a Palestinian flag and a keffiyeh. Next to the icon is a note accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. This banner appears on every page on Arabic Wikipedia, even today's featured article, one for the prehistoric reptile deinosuchus.
- Hulkover, Ilan (January 8, 2024). "Arabic Wikipedia Pushes Pro-Hamas Propaganda On Every Single Page". The Daily Caller. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
These rather blatant pro-Palestinian pages appear to stand in contrast to Wikipedia's own declared standards of covering events from a "neutral point of view," which emphasizes "representing fairly, proportionately, and, as far as possible, without editorial bias, all the significant views" on a topic.
- "Russian version of Wikipedia to launch Monday, reports say". Reuters. January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
Russia has said it was not yet planning to block Wikipedia - one of the few surviving independent sources of information in Russia since a state crackdown on online content intensified after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Russian courts, however, have handed the online encyclopaedia a series of fines over Ukraine-related content since.
- Freshwater, Paige (January 16, 2024). "People are only just realising what the Wiki in Wikipedia actually means". Daily Mirror. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
It appears the 'wiki' part of its name lives up to its promise, as users usually track down the information they're searching for within a few clicks, despite the website having more than 62million articles in more than 300 languages.
- "Nearly 1,700 articles added to Azerbaijani language section of Wikipedia in past year". Azerbaijan State News Agency. January 16, 2024. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
Furthermore, the "Electronic Academy" department`s direct involvement and initiative resulted in the generation of 471 articles on Wikipedia, including 258 in Azerbaijani, 69 in English, 72 in Turkish, 53 in Russian, 8 in Persian, 10 in German, and 1 in Uzbek.
- Mahoutchi, Farid (January 18, 2024). "In the War for Narratives Iran's Regime Takes to Wikipedia". National Council of Resistance of Iran. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
The scenario of Iran's regime utilizing Wikipedia as a battleground for narrative control highlights the necessity for individuals to approach online information, particularly on sensitive topics like Iranian politics, with a discerning mindset. Navigating the vast sea of data demands meticulous fact-checking, logical analysis, and an appreciation of historical contexts.
- Harrison, Stephen (January 19, 2024). "Yes, Copying From Wikipedia Is Plagiarism". Slate. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
Within the academy, it's considered a bit lazy for a scholar to cite any encyclopedias, including Wikipedia, which are considered to be indirect, tertiary sources rather than direct sources of information. "An academic probably shouldn't be citing Encyclopedia Britannica either," said Blum.
- Rafizadeh, Majid (January 15, 2024). "The Iranian Regime Is Using Deceptive Tactics to Spread Disinformation". Townhall. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
The problem extends beyond Iranian politics. Similar occurrences involving China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia infiltrating Wikipedia have been documented.
- Goldberg, Yitz (January 17, 2024). "Factual encyclopedia or Hamas propaganda? Wikipedia's shocking anti-Israel bias". Israel National News. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
The articles, some of which have versions in English as well, are written in a manner that in no way can be considered unbiased, with some presenting unconfirmed reports or even blatant lies as facts.
- Cohen, Noam (January 24, 2024). "Wikimedia Russia Shuts Down, Putting Local Site in Peril". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 24, 2024.
A government campaign to replace Wikipedia Russia with a more pliant alternative seems near completion.
- "Russia invests in a homemade Wikipedia, in the hope of blocking the original". The Bell. January 25, 2024. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
The current Russian-language Wikipedia has about 12,000 regular editors, and many of them live outside of Russia and tend towards having opposition views. Russia's register of banned sites already includes more than 120 Wikipedia articles, mostly to do with the war in Ukraine. If Ruwiki or another pro-Kremlin project can prove its worth, we can expect the original Wikipedia to be banned.
February
- Smith, Emily (February 1, 2024). "These are the UK unis everyone is obsessing over right now, based on Wikipedia views". The Tab. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
So these are officially the UK unis that are the most popular, according to Wikipedia views:
- Kuznetsova, Alisa (February 6, 2024). "Is Wikipedia The Last Hope For Free Speech In Putin's Russia?". Worldcrunch. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
But the challenge lies in the constant upkeep of Wikipedia articles. They require regular updates, clarifications, and error corrections. In Russian Wikipedia alone, around 700,000 corrections are made to 330,000 articles each month, with approximately 7,000 new articles created monthly. It's a substantial undertaking.
- Mahmoudi, Hassan (February 12, 2024). "The Iranian regime is using Wikipedia to spread disinformation". American Thinker. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
Many people in Iran and abroad read Persian Wikipedia, and many from different countries refer to English Wikipedia. Few understand how much of what they read, all of which has the illusion of verifiability, is biased or fake.
- Allen, Melyssa (February 13, 2024). "Students Seek to Correct Gender Bias on Wikipedia". Meredith College. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
Dr. Butz assigned students to contribute to "Wiki Project Women Scientists" or "Underrepresentation of Science and Women in Africa", two projects that aim to correct the gender bias on Wikipedia. The requirement was to write an article about a woman scientist who does not have a Wiki page.
- Hwang, Scott (February 14, 2024). "Hwang: Wikipedia is what the internet promised to be". The Daily Northwestern. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
I'm not sure there is an answer to life, the universe and everything. But when someone figures it out, I'll know where to find it — and you can bet there'll be footnotes.
- Matchett, Conor (February 14, 2024). "WIKI TWEAKS Scottish parliament computers used numerous times to edit MSPs' Wikipedia pages – to make them more positive". The Irish Sun. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
It is impossible to know whether these were done by MSPs or their staff, which could breach a Wikipedia ban on people or employees editing pages about themselves.
- "Russian presidential aide suggests copying Wikipedia in its entirety for Russian analog". Meduza. February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
According to the presidential aide, 99% of the articles on Wikipedia are "absolutely neutral and even interesting," hence they could be used for a Russian analog. ... Medinsky called the remaining 1% of articles "enemy slander," which are "severely moderated." "You'll never get a word of truth in there," he added.
- Mendelle, Hava (February 17, 2024). "Wikipedia: how safe is crowdsourcing the truth?". Spectator Australia. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
The problem here is that with millions of articles on any given topic, the majority of people are likely to read smaller articles as fact regardless of any increased bias or lack of impartiality.
- "Yoruba Wikipedia hits 25 million views in 2023". The Nation. February 17, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
The Yoruba Wikimedians User Group has also collaborated with Mr. Macaroni, a multi-award-winning Nigerian comic skit maker and actor with millions of followers on various social media, to produce a short comic skit to promote the Yoruba language on Wikipedia. The skit was viewed by millions of Nigerians. These efforts, among others, have helped to increase the traffic and readership level of Yoruba Wikipedia.
- "Retired Czechs refine Wikipedia as hobby". Agence France-Presse. February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
"I'm happy when I can take a look at a piece of history and find out someone has praised the entry or even added something. That's what makes me happy," Kadnerova said. "A friend of mine once told me I wasn't doing enough for mankind. So I finally am," she added.
- "The Top 10 Most Viewed K-pop Artists on Wikipedia from 2015 to 2024". Allkpop. February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
From 2015 to February 2024, BTS has dominated at #1 with 90.5 million views as the most-viewed group and K-pop act overall, while Kim Taehyung, aka V, ranks as the most popular solo artist at #3 with 42.5 million views.
- Ackermann, Rebecca (February 26, 2024). "Wikimedia's CTO: In the age of AI, human contributors still matter". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
While Wikipedia's traffic didn't shift significantly during ChatGPT's meteoric rise, the site has seen a general decline in visitors over the last decade as a result of Google's ongoing search updates and generational changes in online behavior.
- "Wikipedia's volunteer editors to have access to all Taylor & Francis journals". The Bookseller. February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
Martin Wilson, head of content at T&F, added: "Wikipedia is the first port of call for so many of us when we want to find out about a new topic and Wikipedia editors do an amazing job helping to keep it as accurate and up to date as possible. We hope this extended partnership with The Wikipedia Library will make Taylor & Francis Online an even more useful resource for supporting that work."
- Harrison Dupré, Maggie (February 29, 2024). "Wikipedia No Longer Considers CNET a "Generally Reliable" Source After AI Scandal". Futurism. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
Wikipedia's source guidelines now provide this striking table that sums up the site's view on CNET: that it was reliable until it was acquired by Red Ventures, unreliable for the period it was caught using AI, and that since 2020 it's suffered a "deterioration in editorial standards."
- Edwards, Benj (February 29, 2024). "AI-generated articles prompt Wikipedia to downgrade CNET's reliability rating". Ars Technica. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
As of this writing, Wikipedia's Perennial Sources list currently features three entries for CNET broken into three time periods:
March
- Germain, Thomas (March 1, 2024). "Rogue Editors Started a Competing Wikipedia That's Only About Roads". Gizmodo. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
Anyone can edit Wikipedia, but that doesn't mean you can write whatever you want. For one, a subject has to be notable. Your grandma's "famous" cookie recipe can't have an article unless it's actually famous. The site isn't a place for personal opinions, either.
- Harper, Christopher (March 2, 2024). "AI-generated content and other unfavorable practices have put longtime staple CNET on Wikipedia's blacklisted sources". Tom's Hardware. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
Considering that CNET has been in the business since 1994 and maintained a top-tier reputation on Wikipedia up until late 2020, this change came after lots of debate between Wikipedia's editors and has drawn the attention of many in the media, including some CNET staff members.
- Kraiem, Leon (March 4, 2024). "Arabic Wikipedia features site-wide "No to genocide in Gaza" banner". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
The banner, which is featured on every Arabic-language Wikipedia page, reads: "In solidarity with the right of the Palestinian people, no to genocide in Gaza, no to killing civilians. No to targeting hospitals and schools. No to deception and double standards. Stop the war and spread a just and comprehensive peace."
- Vinter, Robyn (March 5, 2024). "UK academic's Wikipedia project raises profile of women around the world". The Guardian. Retrieved March 5, 2024.
A UK academic who has completed a project creating a Wikipedia page for a woman in every country in the world is calling for more women to contribute to the world's largest encyclopedia.
- "Review highlights gender gap on Wikipedia". Phys.org. March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
The article provides a detailed view of the gender gap on Wikipedia and it stresses the importance of addressing this problem to guarantee a more equal and diverse platform.
- Ruff, Rhiannon (March 6, 2024). "Why Wikipedia can be a PR problem for political campaigns". PR Daily. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
A recent paper from Oxford Internet Institution researchers specified that while incumbents' Wikipedia pages are more likely to receive higher traffic volumes during an election, pageviews for challengers are significantly more predictive of success — especially for candidates that voters perceive as "viable."
- Dunn, Riley (March 7, 2024). "Stanley Museum Wikipedia Edit-a-thon boosts diverse voices during Women's History Month". The Daily Iowan. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
In response to the historic underrepresentation of women in Wikipedia articles, the Stanley Museum of Art will host a virtual Wikipedia Edit-a-thon throughout March.
- "Int'l Women's Day: Wikimedia launches 'Wikipedia needs more women' campaign". Business Standard. March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
Since 2021, India has seen a steady growth rate of 13 per cent in content related to women on Wikimedia projects because of the efforts of individual contributors as well as collective initiatives.
- Alikhan, Anusha (March 8, 2024). "Wikipedia needs more women. And India can help bridge this gender gap". ThePrint. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
As women have been left out of historical narratives and traditional sources of knowledge, the issue is further reflected on Wikipedia, where women remain significantly underrepresented.
- Agbonkhese, Josephine (March 8, 2024). "IWD: Wikimedia Foundation launches 'Wikipedia Needs More Women' campaign". Vanguard (Nigeria). Retrieved March 10, 2024.
"We, therefore, urge everyone to join us and play their parts in ensuring that we begin to see more women in the world's largest encyclopedia," added Olushola Olaniyan, President, Wikimedia Nigeria User Group.
- Thomas-Odia, Ijeoma (March 8, 2024). "IWD: Wikimedia Foundation seeks to improve gender equity on Wikipedia". The Guardian (Nigeria). Retrieved March 10, 2024.
Wikipedia depends on the availability of existing published sources to verify the facts in its articles. But in many places around the world, women have been left out of historical narratives and traditional sources of knowledge.
- "The Guardian view on Wikipedia's female volunteers: a hive heroism that changes history". The Guardian. March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
The dictionary definition of heroism does not usually extend to people who work away anonymously, and for no money, for the reputational benefit of others. But this is what growing numbers of largely female researchers have been doing, in an attempt to rebalance the historical record on Wikipedia in favour of women.
- Owino, Winfrey (March 10, 2024). "Wikipedia launches campaign for female inclusivity across Africa". The Standard (Kenya). Retrieved March 10, 2024.
"It is inspiring to see the progress made across the African continent to improve gender equity on Wikipedia and beyond," said Masana Mulaudzi, Senior Manager of Campaign Organizing at the Wikimedia Foundation.
- Tual, Morgane (March 12, 2024). "Wikipedia's French-speaking community is torn apart over 'deadnaming' trans people". Le Monde. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
The source of the conflict lies in a debate over the "deadnames" – or morinoms in French – of trans people. Should these names that are no longer in use, such as birthnames, be mentioned on Wikipedia? If so, in which cases and under what conditions?
- Saeed, Aazma (March 13, 2024). "Wikipedia Editors Navigate Political Divides In Covering Pakistan's General Elections". The Friday Times. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
Who is the party leader? This was one of the most confusing questions to answer for contributors to Wikipedia's page.
- Adeeso, Adejumoke (March 14, 2024). "Efforts To Improve Gender Equity On Wikipedia Commended". Leadership. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
Wikimedia Nigeria is organising the WikiGap Nigeria Online Challenge, which is open to the public, to create new articles for notable women and improve existing articles about women on Wikipedia, with a focus on English, Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, and Tyap Wikipedias.
- Costigan, Steffanie (March 14, 2024). "Wikipedia 'edit-a-thon' aims to correct Blackfoot misrepresentation". Lethbridge Herald. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
Romany Craig, professional librarian at the university, shared how she got the idea to hold this workshop by reading about the Wikipedia edit-a-thon which involved individuals coming together to edit around a theme making information more accurate.
- Jansen, Francois (March 14, 2024). "Wikipedia says it needs 'more women' on its website". The South African. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
All it takes is a free account. You can also contribute anonymously. Write about anything, including important women of Southern Africa and their world contributions.
- Aharoni Lir, Shlomit (March 14, 2024). "The Bias Against Israel on Wikipedia" (PDF). World Jewish Congress. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
The articles biased against Israel are mostly closed to editing, and it is impossible for an individual to change them without having made 500 edits, which leaves many Israelis unable to edit articles about which they have great knowledge.
- "Wikipedia English has anti-Israel bias after October 7, World Jewish Congress report says". The Jerusalem Post. March 20, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
The WJC report recommended corrective measures to re-establish the neutrality of Wikipedia, authored by Dr. Shlomit Aharoni Lir, Ph.D., senior fellow researcher at Bar Ilan University and the University of Haifa.
- Swindle, David (March 20, 2024). "WJC publishes research revealing the roots of Wikipedia's anti-Israel bias". Jewish News Syndicate. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
Types of bias the report identifies include delegitimizing terminology, lack of context, omission of significant details, one-sided sources, emphasizing negative examples and linking to pages like "genocide."
- Mendelle, Hava (March 23, 2024). "The World Jewish Congress investigates Wikipedia". Spectator Australia. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
The report claims that English Wikipedia has an anti-Israel bias that spreads disinformation and perpetuates negative stereotypes of Jews and Israelis.
- Lee, Lloyd (March 24, 2024). "For $60, you could 'poison' the data AI chatbots rely on to give good answers, researchers say". Business Insider. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
"By the internet's standards, it's a very high-quality source of text and sources of facts about the world," he said, adding that it's the reason researchers give "extra weight" to data from Wikipedia when training language models even though the website makes up a small part of the internet.
- Kamila, Raviprasad (March 29, 2024). "Tulu Wikipedia more than doubles in size in seven years". The Hindu. Retrieved March 29, 2024.
"Recently a Tulu article of mine related to Karnataka coastal belt's Siri Aradhane (Siri cult of worship) went to English from where it travelled to the German language," Badikana pointed out. He has written 113 articles for both Tulu and Kannada Wikipedia from December 1, 2023 alone in addition to a number of articles written earlier.
April
- Shanks, Adam (April 4, 2024). "Wikipedia is San Francisco's newest political battlefield". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
Wikipedia catalogs the edits made to every page. Supervisors running for election, including Connie Chan, Preston and Aaron Peskin — who is contemplating a run for mayor — have seen an uptick in the number and scale of edits made to their pages in recent months.
- "Wikipedia Needs More Women: Bridging The Gender Gap In Knowledge Representation". Africa.com. April 5, 2024. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
Wikimedia communities in Africa, and particularly sub-Saharan Africa, are some of the fastest-growing around the world. Although people living in Africa remain underrepresented among Wikimedia contributors, a 2020 report found that new contributors to Wikimedia projects are three times more likely to come from Africa than other regions.
- Harris, Airika (April 8, 2024). "Study: Without teacher guidance, Estonian students place blind faith in Wikipedia". Eesti Rahvusringhääling. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
"We learned that a lot depends on the teacher. If teachers trust Wikipedia and tell students about its dangers and shortcomings, it reflects in the students' activities," Remmik pointed out.
- Torborg, Hailey (April 9, 2024). "ASU faculty contributing to improvement of Wikipedia". Arizona State University. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
"If you know how to navigate the site, Wikipedia is a uniquely transparent knowledge-sharing platform," Perkins said. "So students get to see how the articles are developed in ways that are typically black-boxed in academia's peer-review process or in what happens in the office of news media organizations.
- Borisenko, Lyubov (April 11, 2024). "Party line editing". Novaya Gazeta. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
Most often, the Ruwiki pages are substantially shorter than their Wikipedia counterparts; the sexual and plagiarism scandals of Russian representatives, for instance, are often excised.
- Vasilj, Julia (April 14, 2024). "Georgetown hosts Wikipedia edit-a-thon, harnessing anger into action". The Georgetown Voice. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
By the end of the event, the MDI ultimately championed feminist rage as a tool for activism and achieved its goal of closing gender gaps by recruiting 25 new Wikipedia editors.
- "Russian Billionaires Try to Hide Ties with Kremlin by Editing Wikipedia Pages". Kyiv Post. April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
The article quotes an expert on Wikipedia who says some of them may have never wanted an entry to be made but someone did and now they have to try to get control of the message.
- Benjakob, Omer (April 21, 2024). "Israeli PM Netanyahu's Son Asks to Be Removed From Wikipedia in Rare Request". Haaretz. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
But as is the case in Israeli politics, nothing is that simple in Wikipedia's politics, certainly not in Hebrew Wikipedia when it comes to Netanyahu.
- Thum, Van (April 21, 2024). "Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon honors Black artists". Pipe Dream. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
Multiple on-campus organizations and undergraduate students put their heads together to expand accessible knowledge on Wikipedia of six underrepresented Black artists last Friday.
- Mendelle, Hava (April 22, 2024). "JK Rowling puts Wikipedia's neutrality to the test". The Spectator Australia. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
Much of the free information available on Wikipedia has succumbed to such sensationalist news and recentism. More and more editors take on particular causes that they proudly display on their user pages using current events and sources to promote that cause.
- Orlowski, Andrew (April 22, 2024). "How Wikipedia became Wokepedia". Spiked. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
Although Wikipedia may have gone woke, it is probably not in the pocket of intelligence agencies. Still, it would be naive to imagine that the bosses at the Wikimedia Foundation aren't at least trying to use Wikipedia as a tool to propagate their social-justice agenda.
- Lapenkova, Maria (April 29, 2024). "Ryssland förbereder nedstängning av Wikipedia – så ser den ryska kopian ut" [Russia prepares to shut down Wikipedia - this is what the Russian copy looks like]. Sveriges Television (in Swedish). Retrieved April 30, 2024.
Last week, the Minister of Digital Development, Maksut Shadaev, said that Russia does not yet intend to block Wikipedia. But that the calls for a shutdown have increased, while a lot of investment is being made in the Russian copy. - Ruwiki filters Wikipedia articles from lies. It is important that we create our own resources where our citizens can obtain objective information cleaned of propaganda, says Gorelkin on Telegram.
May
- Madhavendra Pratap, Rishabh (May 7, 2024). "Exclusive: Wikipedia Volunteers Mobilise Against Misinformation". Times Now. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
Beyond its internal mechanisms, Wikipedia fosters a culture of fact-checking among its volunteer editors and patrollers.
- Wolens, Joshua (May 8, 2024). "Russia's homegrown Wikipedia promises a 'different direction' from its inspiration: One where Yevgeny Prigozhin just happened to explode in mid-air". PC Gamer. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
For now, Ruwiki exists alongside Wikipedia's Russian-language version, which continues after Wikimedia RU's closure, although it's anyone's guess as to how long that will stay true. Wikipedia is a regular target of attacks by the Russian government, and although the state said it had no plans to block the website in April last year, that was before Ruwiki got off the ground.
- Sargent, Carole (May 8, 2024). "Why notable Catholic sisters need Wikipedia pages, and how to create them". Global Sisters Report. Retrieved May 8, 2024.
I am a professional writer and editor, and so it may seem odd that I now spend time putting Catholic sisters' biographies on Wikipedia instead of, say, into standard Oxford University Press reference works, but I do it because of the impact.
- Wood Jr., John (May 8, 2024). "Conservatives trashed NPR's new CEO for being 'woke.' But the truth is far more complex". USA Today. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
But should we not seek the truth? Yes, of course. Nonetheless, as Maher said, like the volunteer writers of Wikipedia, we also must focus on "the best of what we can know right now." That is a statement of intellectual humility, not of relativism. Complex topics and problems do not lend themselves to easy assessments of truth in real time. Through broad sourcing, the Wikipedia model in theory moves us to closer approximations of what is true.
- Brennen, Ed (May 10, 2024). "Students Sharpen Research Skills at Wikipedia Edit-a-thon". University of Massachusetts Lowell. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
And with generative artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT scraping Wikipedia for copyright-free material to use as grist for their responses, Sancinito says it is more important than ever that the site be trustworthy. "I would rather AI be scraping Wikipedia than someone's conspiracy theory, but it means we have to make sure what we're putting out there is reliable," she says.
- Chapekis, Athena; Bestvater, Samuel; Remy, Emma; Rivero, Gonzalo (May 17, 2024). "When Online Content Disappears". Pew Research Center. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
The analysis indicates that 11% of all references linked on Wikipedia are no longer accessible. On about 2% of source pages containing reference links, every link on the page was broken or otherwise inaccessible, while another 53% of pages contained at least one broken link.
- Allfrey, Fran; Moore, Lucy; Nevell, Richard (May 21, 2024). "Forging the medieval on Wikipedia". postmedieval. Retrieved June 13, 2024.
This article argues for the significance of Wikipedia for medievalists in terms of how it may shape research, pedagogy, and public-facing work.
- Bandler, Aaron (May 23, 2024). "Seven Tactics Wikipedia Editors Used to Spread Anti-Israel Bias Since Oct. 7". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
I have been investigating Wikipedia for more than three years, having talked to many Wikipedians about how the site's mechanisms have created a self-sustaining system of left-wing and anti-Israel bias.
- Keeler, Kyle (May 24, 2024). "Wikipedia's Indian problem: settler colonial erasure of native American knowledge and history on the world's largest encyclopedia". Settler Colonial Studies. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
In its current form, Wikipedia is hostile to Indigenous peoples. Its long-time editors, administrators, policies, and structure, refuse, are not equipped, or are not designed to make the adjustments necessary for meaningful change to occur.
- Sibal, Sidhant (May 25, 2024). "Amid elections, Wikipedia relies on Indian AI for regional content translation". WION. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
One notable success story is the Santali language Wikipedia, which has experienced an increase in content creation since the deployment of AI tools, leading to an overall increase of 30% in the number of articles.
June
- Byron, Avior (June 2, 2024). "Truth held hostage: Language differences in Wikipedia's 'Israel-Hamas War' page - opinion". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
Wikipedia acknowledges the vast differences between different-language editions of the same subject, stemming from independent editing communities, the availability and use of sources in different languages, cultural and political contexts influencing perspectives, and others.
- Harrison, Stephen (June 4, 2024). "The Most Heated Debate on Trump's Felony Conviction Is Happening on … Wikipedia?". Slate. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
As it turns out, it's not always clear how to apply Wikipedia's traditional rules to as polarizing a figure as Trump.
- Realfonzo, Ugo (June 4, 2024). "How Wikipedia fights against fake news". The Brussels Times. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
While Europe agonises over a possible rise of authoritarianism and greater control of the online information space, organisations like Wikimedia are ambassadors to true internet freedom, maintaining access to information via the people's encyclopaedia.
- Halushak, Maureen (June 11, 2024). "This Canadian Non-Profit Is Helping To Fix Wikipedia's Diversity Gap". Chatelaine. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
Note: Content created on Wikipedia needs to be supported by reliable published sources, such as newspaper articles. This can create another barrier for women and racialized people, whose stories can be overlooked by mainstream media.
- Kassam, Ashifa (June 12, 2024). "'We're writing history': Spanish women tackle Wikipedia's gender gap". The Guardian. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
She's often watched in awe as her sentences ricochet across the internet. "Over the years I've seen lines that I wrote used all over the place, repeated over and over in articles," she said. "The influence you have is tremendous."
- Shamim, Sarah; Oxford, Dwayne (June 14, 2024). "Wikipedia war: Fierce row erupts over Israel's deadly Nuseirat assault". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
While most Wikipedia pages are open to any registered user to edit, an exception is made for certain articles that are locked or "protected" to prevent "disruptive editing on controversial pages", the Wikipedia homepage explains. When pages are locked, the new settings limit and slow down the number of edits made to the pages.
- "Wikipedia article on Israeli army's Nuseirat massacre in Gaza sparks edit war, restrictions". The New Arab. June 15, 2024. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
Edit wars have been occurring on Wikipedia for a number of years and for a variety of articles. A 2011 PCWorld article detailed that edit wars had been waged on articles on Nikola Tesla, Star Wars and Chinese Basketball player Yao Ming.
- Elia-Shalev, Asaf (June 18, 2024). "ADL faces Wikipedia ban over reliability concerns on Israel, antisemitism". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
Moreover, in a near consensus, dozens of Wikipedia editors involved in the discussion said they believe the ADL should not be cited for factual information on antisemitism as well because it acts primarily as a pro-Israel organization and tends to label legitimate criticism of Israel as antisemitism.
- "Wikipedia declares Anti-Defamation League 'unreliable' on Israel, antisemitism: Report". Middle East Eye. June 18, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
The editors also cited controversial statements by ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, who has claimed student protests were proxies of Iran and compared the Palestinian keffiyeh head scarf to the swastika.
- Marcus, Josh (June 19, 2024). "Why Wikipedia just labeled a top Jewish civil rights organization 'unreliable' on the Israel-Palestine crisis". The Independent. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
As The Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) reports, debate about the ADL has been ongoing for months among the dedicated team of volunteer editors whose work is viewed in more than 15bn monthly visits from web users around the world.
- "Wikipedia declares ADL 'unreliable' on Israel-Palestine conflict, antisemitism". i24NEWS. June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
After formal declaration, the decisions will add the ADL to the list banned and partially banned sources.
- "Wikipedia labels prominent Israeli civil rights organization 'unreliable' on Israel-Palestine crisis, antisemitism". Arab News. June 19, 2024. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
In a statement, the ADL said the Wikipedia decision was part of a "campaign to delegitimize the ADL."
- Goldman, David (June 19, 2024). "Wikipedia now labels the top Jewish civil rights group as an unreliable source". CNN. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
If Wikipedia's editors are distancing themselves from the ADL, that could suggest media, academic and partnering advocacy organizations will think twice about how they approach ADL data in their own efforts to inform their audiences on antisemitism.
- Eshman, Rob (June 19, 2024). "Wikipedia called the ADL 'unreliable.' It's a wake-up call the civil rights organization badly needs". The Forward. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
The real problem that the Wikipedia designation points out with the ADL is that there is an inherent contradiction between doing serious research and engaging in advocacy.
- Reinl, James (June 21, 2024). "'Trump bad, Obama good' - Wikipedia's bias REVEALED, and how it affects you". The Daily Mail. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
A study from the Manhattan Institute, a right-leaning think tank, says it has uncovered 'evidence of political bias embedded in Wikipedia articles.'
- Ginzburg, Daniela (June 21, 2024). "Wikipedia deems ADL 'unreliable' due to Israel advocacy". Jewish News Syndicate. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
Wikipedia editors' decision to categorize the ADL as "a source that is generally unreliable" means that from now on, it will not be possible to quote data or statements from the ADL in articles posted on Wikipedia, except in exceptional cases.
- Bandler, Aaron (June 21, 2024). "Wikipedia Editors Label ADL Only Reliable for Antisemitism When "Israel and Zionism Are Not Concerned"". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
"This discussion contained a range of perspectives, ranging from those who enthusiastically defended the ADL in all contexts, to those who viewed it as categorically unreliable," the three Wikipedians who closed the discussion wrote. "Most editors, however, favored some middle ground between those extremes."
- Collins, Michael (June 21, 2024). "Anti-hate group ADL slams Wikipedia after site labels it 'unreliable' source on conflict". USA Today. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
A leading anti-hate organization that tracks reports of antisemitism is fighting back after a group of anonymous volunteer editors of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia declared the group 'generally unreliable' to provide information on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. … Greenblatt accused Wikipedia of a lack of transparency about its review process and noted that the ADL was never formally notified of the editors' decision. The first ADL heard about the ruling was when it was contacted by news organizations, he said.
- Youssef, Aya (June 23, 2024). "Palestine's battle against Zionist editing on Wikipedia". Al Mayadeen. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
Despite these challenges, there are ongoing efforts to counteract bias and ensure a more fair representation of the Palestinian narrative on Wikipedia. The hidden narrative battles for Palestine on Wikipedia highlight the broader struggle for control over historical and contemporary narratives. In the ongoing battle for truth and justice, every edit counts.
- Eshman, Rob (June 24, 2024). "'Does anybody question the NAACP?': The ADL head thinks Wikipedia is biased. Is he right?". The Forward. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
"Yes, of course there are a lot of users who support Palestine," said McGrady, who said he has used ADL data in his own media research in the past, "and no shortage of users who support Israel."
- Nechin, Etan (June 25, 2024). "Leading Jewish Groups Rebuke Wikipedia's 'Attack' on ADL's Credibility on Antisemitism". Haaretz. Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
In a strongly worded letter to the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, a group of more than forty leading Jewish organizations, such as the Jewish Federations of North America, B'nai B'rith International, and HIAS, voiced their discontent over Wikipedia's recent evaluation of the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) reliability on matters of antisemitism.
- "Jewish orgs pen letter to Wikipedia condemning ADL ban". The Jerusalem Post. June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
The US Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations said they 'express concern and dismay with Wikipedia's attack on ADL's reliability on the topic of antisemitism and other issues of central concern to the Jewish community.'
- "Jewish orgs pen letter to Wikipedia condemning ADL ban". Jewish News Syndicate. June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
In its attack on the Anti-Defamation League, Wikipedia is "stripping the Jewish community of the right to defend itself from the hatred that targets our community," 43 Jewish organizations wrote to the Wikimedia Foundation board in a letter on Monday.
- Ghermezian, Shiryn (June 25, 2024). "Jewish Groups Lambast Wikipedia for Its 'Attack on ADL's Credibility' About Antisemitism, Israeli-Palestinian Conflict". Algemeiner Journal. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
The ADL criticized Wikipedia's decision regarding its credibility when it was first announced last week. The civil rights organization called the decision "a sad development for research and education" and "devastating for the Jewish community and society."
- Elia-Shalev, Asaf (June 25, 2024). "Wikipedia's operator rebuffs Jewish groups' call to override editors on ADL trustworthiness". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
In a response to an inquiry from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the foundation did not address the content of the letter but appeared to reject its very premise.
- Tobin, Jonathan S. (June 26, 2024). "Censorship stand comes back to bite the ADL on Wikipedia". Jewish News Syndicate. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
The decision of Wikipedia to label the ADL as an "unreliable source" on its site with respect to anything related to Israel generated a letter of protest from 43 of the largest and most influential American Jewish organizations, including a sampling of groups on the center, left and right.
- Brasch, Ben (June 26, 2024). "Wikipedia defends editors deeming Anti-Defamation League 'unreliable' on Gaza". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
Wikimedia underscored that the foundation has no input on the content. 'This independent relationship is crucial to ensuring Wikipedia remains neutral and free from institutional bias. The Foundation has not, and does not, intervene in decisions made by the community about the classification of a source,' per the statement.
- "Wikipedia defends decision to declare Anti-Defamation League an unreliable source on Israel-Palestine". Arab News. June 27, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
The Wikimedia Foundation, however, issued a statement on Wednesday supporting its editors' decision and the volunteer-led processes that "ensure that neutral, reliable information is available for all."
July
- Jacobson, Ken (July 1, 2024). "Wikipedia's Serious Problem: Bias Against Israel". Algemeiner Journal. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
In deeming ADL reporting as "unreliable," this subset of Wikipedia's editors has ignored all these forms of antisemitism that have emerged over the last eight months.
- Bhagat, Jitender (July 2, 2024). "The Hidden World of Wikipedia Page Creation Services". Entrepreneur India. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
This is where Maximatic Media's expertise comes into play, crafting pages that not only go live but remain intact against the scrutiny of Wikipedia's dedicated community of editors and administrators.
- Paterra, Paul (July 8, 2024). "'Women in Red': PennWest prof helps close gender gap in Wikipedia entries". Observer–Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
I think there are a lot of overlooked topics. There's room for us to add. They're trying very hard to identify gaps and recruit people to fill those gaps to sort of help out with some of those biases. They're taking action to try to make things more equitable.
- "When students tried to right a gender wrong". The Times of India. July 8, 2024. Retrieved July 8, 2024.
According to a recently published article in Nature, currently, only about 19% of the English-language Wikipedia's 1.5 million biographies feature women.
- Read, Kristy (July 8, 2024). "Dal Libraries edit‑a‑thon fills gaps on Wikipedia about Mi'kmaw people and places". Dalhousie University. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
Dr. Stacy Allison-Cassin, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Management, guided participants in learning the basics of Wikipedia article creation and editing. She then led the group in a collaborative effort to enhance entries on notable Mi'kmaw people and organizations.
- Byron, Avior (July 8, 2024). "Wikipedia in Arabic denies rape committed as weapon of war - opinion". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
While the Wikipedia definition of rape is largely consistent across cultures, its interpretation in various languages and contexts can be problematic. The Arabic talk page of the entry "Israel-Hamas war in Gaza" reveals a disturbing picture of denial and misinformation.
- "The Kremlin is rewriting Wikipedia". The Economist. July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2024 – via Mint.
Despite long-running disagreements, Russian authorities have not yet blacklisted Wikipedia as they have dozens of other media. For the time being the two exist side by side. But the heavy investment in RuWiki suggests that Wikipedia's days are numbered.
- Khan, Khadija (July 11, 2024). "Why has ANI slapped a defamation case against Wikipedia?". The Indian Express. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
ANI has argued that Wikipedia is a significant social media intermediary under the meaning of Section 2(1)(w) of the Information Technology Act, 2000:
- Newkey-Burden, Chas (July 12, 2024). "RuWiki: Russian Wikipedia rival that censors everything from Ukraine to oral sex". The Week. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
Wikipedia has "faced trouble" from the Kremlin since the start of the Ukrainian war in 2014 , said The Economist, and is now one of the few surviving independent sources of information in Russia.
- Deep, Aroon (July 12, 2024). "Wikipedia parent responds to ANI defamation suit, says content by volunteer editors". The Hindu. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
The case pits, potentially for the first time in such a significant way, Wikipedia's volunteer-centric editorial norms against Indian regulations like the IT Rules, 2021, which require all loosely defined internet "intermediaries" to take action against content online if it is, among other things, defamatory, and a court or government order is issued against them.