(Adnkronos) – The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has opened an investigation into alleged attempts to manipulate content on Wikipedia by “foreign individuals in academic institutions funded with US taxpayer dollars to influence public opinion in the US.” The committee refers, in particular, to studies that highlight actions of “propaganda aimed at Western users”, such as those to “promote anti-Semitic and anti-Israel information” or “pro-Kremlin messages”.
The committee chairman, Republican James Comer, and Nancy Mace, Republican head of the Cybersecurity, Information Technology, and Government Innovation subcommittee, state – in a letter addressed to Maryana Iskander, CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, reported by American media – that they are seeking documents and communications related to specific individuals or Wikipedia volunteer accounts that have violated platform policies, as well as on the work of the Wikimedia Foundation to “counter deliberate and organized efforts to introduce ‘bias’ into important and sensitive topics”.
“Many studies and reports have highlighted efforts to manipulate information on the Wikipedia platform for propaganda aimed at Western users,” write Comer and Mace. They refer to a report by the Anti-Defamation League. “A recent report raises disturbing questions about possible systematic efforts” to manipulate content related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “to promote anti-Semitic and anti-Israel information in Wikipedia articles related to conflicts with the State of Israel.” And they refer to a text from the Atlantic Council. To a work that “detailed actions” to “expose users in the West to pro-Kremlin and anti-Western messages, manipulating Wikipedia articles and other bodies” that can influence the training of artificial intelligence chatbots.
