Wikipedia defends editors deeming Anti-Defamation League ‘unreliable’ on Gaza
2024-06-26T16:16:54.766ZEinav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker, marches with thousands of supporters and other family members of the hostages held in Gaza, as they protest the government in Tel Aviv on April 29. (Heidi Levine for The Washington Post) Wikipedia is defending its community editors as they face pressure for declaring the Anti-Defamation League an unreliable source of information about the Israel-Gaza war.The dust-up began this month when editors for the English version of Wikipedia, one of the most visited websites in the world, voted to consider the ADL “generally unreliable regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”That prompted a letter Monday from more than 40 Jewish organizations, including the ADL, to the Wikimedia Foundation expressing “concern and dismay by Wikipedia’s attack on ADL’s reliability on the topic of antisemitism and other issues of central concern to the Jewish community.”The letter accused Wikipedia of “stripping the Jewish community of the right to defend itself from the hatred that targets out community.”The ADL, founded in 1913, is a Jewish civil rights group that monitors hate and extremism. In recent months, however, its pro-Israel stances have compromised its reputation, critics say. The ADL was active as an advocate for Zionism long before the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that reignited bloodshed in the region.The organization has faced multiple controversies over the last several months, from some criticizing the methodology it uses to quantify the number of antisemitic attacks to its college campus antisemitism report cards and backing a controversial definition of antisemitism itself.The ADL describes itself as “a global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all.”Wikipedia is run by volunteers who decide on the wording and sources in its articles but seek “to ensure that neutral, reliable information is available for all,” according to a Wednesday news release from the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that administers Wikipedia.org.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’s volunteers also added the ADL to a public list of sources to be avoided on certain topics, alongside outlets like Rolling Stone on “politically and societally sensitive issues” and Fox News politics reporting and talk shows.Wikipedia editors wrote that the ADL is unreliable when it comes to the conflict “due to significant evidence that the ADL acts as a pro-Israeli advocacy group and has repeatedly published false and misleading statements as fact, unretracted, regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict. The general unreliability of the ADL extends to the intersection of the topics of antisemitism and the Israel/Palestine conflict.”“Several media reports have incorrectly implied that the ADL is no longer considered a reliable source on Wikipedia. The ADL remains a generally reliable source on Wikipedia, outside of the topic of the Israel/Palestine conflict,” per the Wikimedia statement.The ADL is cited multiple times on Wikipedia’s article about antisemitism.All of Wikipedia’s editing and forums are public. Conversations among volunteer editors about the ADL as a source began popping up March 25 and developed into a formal discussion April 6. A total of about 120 volunteers over three discussion threads spent two months debating the merits of the ADL as a source on the conflict. In the end, an elected volunteer closed the threads and summarized the discussions into what became the basis of their decision. The conversation was brought to light last week through reporting from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.“We urge the reconsideration of these actions and encourage Wikipedia to join us in combating antisemitism, rather than acting as a cover for those who seek to perpetuate the scourge of Jew hatred,” according to the letter signed by the Jewish groups.
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Wikipedia is defending its community editors as they face pressure for declaring the Anti-Defamation League an unreliable source of information about the Israel-Gaza war.
The dust-up began this month when editors for the English version of Wikipedia, one of the most visited websites in the world, voted to consider the ADL “generally unreliable regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
That prompted a letter Monday from more than 40 Jewish organizations, including the ADL, to the Wikimedia Foundation expressing “concern and dismay by Wikipedia’s attack on ADL’s reliability on the topic of antisemitism and other issues of central concern to the Jewish community.”
The letter accused Wikipedia of “stripping the Jewish community of the right to defend itself from the hatred that targets out community.”
The ADL, founded in 1913, is a Jewish civil rights group that monitors hate and extremism. In recent months, however, its pro-Israel stances have compromised its reputation, critics say. The ADL was active as an advocate for Zionism long before the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas that reignited bloodshed in the region.
The organization has faced multiple controversies over the last several months, from some criticizing the methodology it uses to quantify the number of antisemitic attacks to its college campus antisemitism report cards and backing a controversial definition of antisemitism itself.
The ADL describes itself as “a global leader in combating antisemitism, countering extremism and battling bigotry wherever and whenever it happens, ADL works to protect democracy and ensure a just and inclusive society for all.”
Wikipedia is run by volunteers who decide on the wording and sources in its articles but seek “to ensure that neutral, reliable information is available for all,” according to a Wednesday news release from the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that administers Wikipedia.org.
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’s volunteers also added the ADL to a public list of sources to be avoided on certain topics, alongside outlets like Rolling Stone on “politically and societally sensitive issues” and Fox News politics reporting and talk shows.
Wikipedia editors wrote that the ADL is unreliable when it comes to the conflict “due to significant evidence that the ADL acts as a pro-Israeli advocacy group and has repeatedly published false and misleading statements as fact, unretracted, regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict. The general unreliability of the ADL extends to the intersection of the topics of antisemitism and the Israel/Palestine conflict.”
“Several media reports have incorrectly implied that the ADL is no longer considered a reliable source on Wikipedia. The ADL remains a generally reliable source on Wikipedia, outside of the topic of the Israel/Palestine conflict,” per the Wikimedia statement.
The ADL is cited multiple times on Wikipedia’s article about antisemitism.
All of Wikipedia’s editing and forums are public. Conversations among volunteer editors about the ADL as a source began popping up March 25 and developed into a formal discussion April 6. A total of about 120 volunteers over three discussion threads spent two months debating the merits of the ADL as a source on the conflict. In the end, an elected volunteer closed the threads and summarized the discussions into what became the basis of their decision. The conversation was brought to light last week through reporting from the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
“We urge the reconsideration of these actions and encourage Wikipedia to join us in combating antisemitism, rather than acting as a cover for those who seek to perpetuate the scourge of Jew hatred,” according to the letter signed by the Jewish groups.
