Researchers have discovered a network of shadow editors spreading Russian propaganda on Wikipedia.
Gizmodo writes about it.
Researchers from two British think tanks — the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) and the Center for Analysis of Social Media (CASM) — on October 17 published a report on the evaluation of modern methods of searching for disinformation in Wikipedia. He points to "suspicious edits" made with the aim of influencing public opinion about Russiaʼs war in Ukraine.
Experts analyzed the activities of 86 editors who were previously banned due to various violations of Wikipediaʼs code of ethics and found that these people constantly added links to Russian state media in their publications.
Proving the connection between the banned editors and finding out who actually controls the accounts proved to be very difficult. There is also no evidence of Russian government involvement in this.
Wikipedia has several high-profile cases of foreign government involvement. One such incident occurred last year when several Chinese administrators were banned for distorting "content towards a strong Chinese nationalist viewpoint."
- In September, the Russian Wikipedia in Ukraine lost a record number of views, due to which the Ukrainian version almost overtook it in terms of popularity.