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“Remember: ‘This policy is non-negotiable, and the principles upon which it is based cannot be superseded by other policies or guidelines, nor by editor consensus,’” he wrote.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 spread propaganda and manipulate articles on sensitive topics, including antisemitic and anti-Israel content.
Their letter to Wikimedia CEO Maryana Iskander cited reports claiming foreign actors and US taxpayer-funded academics were systematically editing pages to advance anti-Western and pro-Kremlin narratives, and demanded records on how Wikimedia detects and disciplines such activity.
The row over the “Gaza genocide” post also comes after Elon Musk launched a Wikipedia rival called Grokipedia last week. The AI-powered site is meant to provide info without the lefty bias Musk has long attributed to Wikipedia.
“It feels very improper for the WMF to be intervening here due to political pressure, even if you are ostensibly acting as an individual,” one Wikipedia editor wrote.
As of Monday morning, the lede of the “Gaza genocide” page still stated, without attribution: “The Gaza genocide is the ongoing, intentional, and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip carried out by Israel during the Gaza war.”
The article continued, “The genocidal acts include mass killings, starvation, infliction of serious bodily and mental harm, and preventing births,” citing “other acts include blockading, destroying civilian infrastructure, destroying health care facilities, killing health care workers and aid seekers, causing mass forced displacement, committing sexual violence, and destroying educational, religious, and cultural sites.”
Visitors to the page could still read the text in spite of the editing block.
The top of the page includes a message next to an icon of a lock.
“This article is currently protected from editing until November 4, 2025 at 21:47 UTC, or until editing disputes have been resolved,” the message stated.
The disclaimer is “not an endorsement of the current version.”
Wales’ post divided Wikipedia editors on the “talk page” that accompanies the entry — drawing a mix of kudos and allegations he had bowed to pressure from pro-Israel groups.
“Thank you for these important words. This is a first step toward correcting the bias and restoring neutrality to Wikipedia,” one Wikipedia editor wrote.
Another editor said Wales was acting in good faith, writing: “He has not ignored consensus nor tried to overturn it; he has come here to discuss it and try to reach a new consensus. And he is here as an editor — he made crystal clear that he is here in a personal capacity.”
A critic, meanwhile, wrote that Wales’ move was “disrespectful to all the experienced, good faith editors who put a lot of hard work into getting this article to the place it is.”
Another Wikipedia editor accused him of having a conflict of interest given his reported ties to Israel.
Wales has reportedly visited Israel at least 10 times. In 2015, he was awarded the prestigious Dan David Prize from Tel Aviv University.
Israel launched military actions against Gaza-based Hamas after the Islamist terrorist organization staged attacks on Oct. 7, 2023 that led to the deaths of some 1,200 Israelis.
The Post has sought comment from Wales, Wikimedia Foundation, the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.
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