“Multiple studies and reports have highlighted efforts to manipulate information on the Wikipedia platform for propaganda aimed at Western audiences,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Wikimedia Foundation Chief Executive Officer Maryana Iskander. “One recent report raised troubling questions about potentially systematic efforts to advance antisemitic and anti-Israel information in Wikipedia articles related to conflicts with the State of Israel. A second investigation detailed actions by hostile nation-state actors to expose Western audiences to pro-Kremlin and anti-Western messaging by manipulating Wikipedia articles and other news outlets relied on for training AI chatbots.”
The inquiry “seeks information to help our examination of how Wikipedia responds to such threats and how frequently it creates accountability when intentional, egregious, or highly suspicious patterns of conduct on topics of sensitive public interest are brought to attention,” the letter reads. Comer and Mace profess themselves concerned about “malicious conduct that injects bias or undermines a neutral point of view” on Wikipedia.
Of course, what’s considered a “biased” perspective or a “neutral” one is subjective, at least in this day and age. President Donald Trump’s administration has undertaken an effort to revise the programming of national institutions such as the Smithsonian. This was done under an executive order called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which claims there’s been “a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.” Trump’s admin has also made efforts to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the country, which is being reflected in the programming and staffing of Hollywood studios and news organizations. CBS News, for instance, is set to install an ombudsman to “receive and evaluate any complaints of bias or other concerns.” Increasingly, it seems the only welcome perspective in the U.S. is that of the President and the modern Republican party.
