How Wikipedia's Pro-Hamas Editors Hijacked the Israel-Palestine Narrative

[Mosby]

Snip

While always contentious, over roughly the past four years, and intensifying since October 7, PIA (Palestine-Israel articles) has been subject to a highly coordinated, sustained and remarkably effective campaign to radically alter public perception of the conflict. Led by around 40 mostly veteran editors, the campaign has worked to delegitimize Israel, present radical Islamist groups in a favorable light, and position fringe academic views on the Israel-Palestine conflict as mainstream.

A separate but complementary campaign, launched after October 7 and staged from an 8,000 member-strong Discord group called Tech For Palestine (TFP), employed common tech modalities — ticket creation, strategy planning sessions, group audio “office hour” chats — to alter over 100 articles. Operating from February 6 to September 3 of this year, TFP became a well-oiled operation, going so far as to attempt to use Wikipedia as a means of pressuring British members of parliament into changing their positions on Israel and the Gaza War.

These efforts are remarkably successful. Type “Zionism” into Wikipedia’s search box and, aside from the main article on Zionism (and a disambiguation page), the auto-fill returns: “Zionism as settler colonialism,” “Zionism in the Age of the Dictators” (a book by a pro-Palestinian Trotskyite), “Zionism from the Standpoint of its Victims,” and “Racism in Israel.”

https://www.piratewires.com/p/how-wikipedia-s-pro-hamas-editors-hijacked-the-israel-palestine-narrative

[Mosby]

1. Another snippet

One of the articles targeted most intensively by the group is the one for Amin Al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem from the 1920s to the 1950s, a pivotal figure in Palestinian history. While Iskandar323 worked to remove negative content from the Al-Husseini article, it was two other members of the group — Zero0000 and Nishidani — who would have the greatest impact, together making over 1,000 edits to the article, often in an attempt to erase or downplay Al-Husseini’s well-documented collaboration with Hitler.

In one instance in April 2021, Zero0000 and Nishidani worked together to keep a photo of Al-Husseini touring a Nazi concentration camp out of the article. While a single editor, Shane (a newbie), advocated for its inclusion, a trio of veterans including Zero0000, Nishidani and Selfstudier fought back. After Selfstudier accused Shane of being a troll for arguing for the photo’s inclusion, Zero0000, days later, “objected” to its inclusion, citing issues of provenance. Nishidani stepped in to back up Zero0000, prompting a response by Shane. The following day, Zero0000 pushed back against Shane, who responded. The day after, Nishidani returned with his own pushback. The tag-team effort proved too much for Shane, who simply gave up, and the effort succeeded: the photo remains absent. To date, Nishidani’s contributions to the article on Al-Husseini comprise 56.4% of its content.

In another case, Nishidani worked with a member of the pro-Palestine group editors, Onceinawhile to produce an article called “Zionism, race and genetics.” (The article’s title was later changed to “Racial conceptions of Jewish identity in Zionism”.) The article attempts to tie Zionism’s roots to 19th century views on “race science” embraced by the Nazis, thereby drawing an implicit — and, in at least one instance in the article, explicit — parallel between Zionism and Nazism. Pro-Palestine group member Onceinawhile created the article in July of last year, accompanied by a note arguing, “Early Zionists were the primary supporters of the idea that Jews are a race, as it offered scientific ‘proof’ of the ethno-nationalist myth of common descent.”Together, Onceinawhile and Nishidani’s contributions account for nearly 90% of the article’s content. Onceinawhile would continue to push this view in numerous other articles, including the article on “Zionism.”

[JohnSJ]

2. not surprised at all. Wikipedia should not be relied on for accurate information.

[moniss]

3. It would also be useful if people

fully understood the extent of groups, funding etc. that takes place on the Israeli side of issues that is way beyond the typical AIPAC discussions. Since large amounts of money are run through various organizations and non-profits that provide funding for illegal settlement activity in the West Bank and provision of civilians from the US to spend extended "trips" to Israel for the purpose of providing administrative, construction, maintenance and other support services at IDF bases in Israel those kinds of "influence and conduct" activities should be discussed as well. Along with the considerable money that funds groups and individuals to be a presence on social media, news sites etc. and coordinates putting out a "desired" narrative as well as suppressing if possible any narrative they don't like.

No matter how either side tries to deny or decry these kinds of activities on their part or their opposition it still is a fact. But the pot calling the kettle black has been a feature of these sides for a very, very, very long time.

[Mosby]

5. Calling them "illegal settlements" is also part of a narrative

Because the reality is that people are building houses and apartments in disputed territory. This territory has no elected government, and probably won't in the foreseeable future.

[moniss]

6. They've been declared illegal under

international law.

[Mosby]

7. No such thing.

There are treaties and what not, but this "international law" is a false construct.

Show me the "International Law" that says building houses is illegal.

[moniss]

8. This silly denial by the

Likud and surviving Kahanists has been put aside and the displacement of populations and replacing them with your own people in Occupied Territories is in violation and is well known. It is ethnic cleansing and the defense of it is abhorrent but not unexpected. There are certainly those around the world who see nothing wrong in attacking villagers who have done nothing, driving them off, tearing down their houses and replacing them with buildings for the attackers and their families. But it is and has been the dominant strategy by the far right in Israel and it will remain so because nobody around the world has the guts to actually stand up to the Likud/Kahanists. Just empty words of concern. But the ability to proceed in something or the determination to do so does not make it legal or ethical. But it does expose what is evil.

[LymphocyteLover]

4. I don't really understand what the problem is in the last paragraph. If you search for Zionism on wiki, as I just did,

the main article is the top hit and the other hits seems reasonable in context.

[Aussie105]

9. Any negative commentary is to be dumped on.

Question the Israeli actions, and you are instantly accused of being pro Hamas and anti Israel.

[LymphocyteLover]

10. apparently