Wikipedia co-founder blocks editing of Gaza genocide page over egregious anti-Israel claims

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales personally intervened to block the site’s users from editing a page titled “Gaza genocide” — calling out the article and its introduction for anti-Israel bias.The first sentence of the controversial entry refers to a “Gaza genocide” without attributing it to any sources, failing to indicate that it is an allegation that remains “highly contested” and instead portraying it as an undisputed fact, Wales wrote.“This article fails to meet our high standards and needs immediate attention,” Wales wrote, citing Wikipedia policies on neutrality and attribution to call out the biased tone of the “Gaza genocide” entry.His Sunday intervention marked a relatively rare instance of users being blocked from editing Wikipedia, which is reportedly cited in seven out of 10 AI query results and is the top-ranking result for most Google searches about people or things.“I believe that Wikipedia is at its best when we can have reasonable discussion rooted in a commitment to write articles that reflect a neutral point of view,” wrote Wales, whose current title is chair emeritus of the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation that oversees the free online encyclopedia.“I believe that’s especially important on highly difficult or contentious topics,” Wales added.

“While this article is a particularly egregious example, there is much more work to do.”Wales demanded that the volunteer editors of the site adopt a “neutral approach” that “would begin with a formulation such as: ‘Multiple government, NGOs, and legal bodies have described or rejected the characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide.'”“Remember: ‘This policy is non-negotiable, and the principles upon which it is based cannot be superseded by other policies or guidelines, nor by editor consensus,'” he wrote.In August, House Oversight Chair James Comer and Rep.Nancy Mace alleged that organized groups were violating Wikipedia’s rules to spr...