‘Agenda-driven’ – ADL blasts Wikipedia bias on Israel, Judaism

Some 40 editors were found to have collaborated to change the content of pages related to the Israeli-Arab conflict, including downplaying Hamas atrocities and silencing those who noted their biased editing.

By World Israel News Staff

An investigation into systemic anti-Israel bias on Wikipedia reveals that the supposedly neutral platform has been compromised by editors with clear anti-Zionist and antisemitic views.

The report, published by the ADL’s (Anti-Defamation Leagues) Center for Technology and Society (CTS), paints a disturbing picture of the outsized influence held by a relatively small number of activist editors.

Some 40 editors were found to have collaborated to change the content of pages related to the Israeli-Arab conflict, including downplaying Hamas atrocities and silencing those who noted their biased editing.

“Most readers assume Wikipedia is a reliable online encyclopedia, but in reality, it has become a biased platform manipulated by agenda-driven editors on many topics,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a media statement.

“Recent Wikipedia efforts toward neutrality are nothing but a Band-Aid on a problem that’s getting worse, with persistent antisemitic and anti-Israel bias still far too present,” Greenblatt added.

“We urge Wikipedia and policymakers to act quickly before rampant disinformation on one of the most visited sources of information leads to tragic consequences.”

The report also noted that Wikipedia’s Arabic-language pages are often in flagrant violation of the site’s policies, as they typically glorify the activities of terror groups such as Hamas.

The anti-Israel slant on Wikipedia is particularly significant in today’s digital-oriented world, as millions of readers consult the platform as a reliable source for what they believe to be unbiased, factual information.

“Millions and millions of people are being fed information that has been essentially produced by a group of 40 pro-Palestine editors acting in a coordinated fashion,” investigative journalist Ashley Rindsberg told The Algemeiner.

Rindsberg added that the misleading narratives promoted on Wikipedia are “completely altering the way the world sees the conflict as well as the region.”