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Wikipedia Has It Out for Israel, and We've Got the Data to Prove It

(National Post-Canada) Neil Seeman and Jeff Ballabon - While Wikipedia's collaborative model has democratized knowledge creation, our analysis reveals alarming patterns of bias. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of Wikipedia's structural bias, using as our case study the page about South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice. Through a detailed examination of over 1,000 page revisions, we identified 27 highly active editors who contributed significantly to the page. One high-bias editor consistently removed neutral descriptive terms from the Israeli response section. Another editor systematically changed article titles from neutral legal terminology ("South Africa v. Israel (Genocide Convention)") to more emotionally loaded versions ("South Africa's genocide case against Israel"), demonstrating a pattern of bias in framing the conflict. Yet another editor invoked overt animus, such as labelling Israel as the enemy and actively accusing it of genocide. This concentration of editorial power in Wikipedia's coverage raises the specter that the system is too readily gamed by those with a sharp axe to wield. While Wikipedia is increasingly used in classrooms and news cites, as well as cited in academic literature, evidence of potential agenda-driven bias renders Wikipedia less credible, let alone authoritative. Neil Seeman is a Senior Fellow at Massey College in the University of Toronto. Jeff Ballabon is Senior Counsel for International and Government Affairs at the American Center for Law and Justice.
2024-11-21 00:00:00
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