ADL Report: Wikipedia Edits Downplay Hamas Atrocities, Israeli Hostage Deaths

A new report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) alleges that English-language Wikipedia articles concerning Israel and Hamas atrocities have been systematically altered to downplay violence and misrepresent events, particularly those related to the October 7th attacks and Israeli hostages. The ADL's primary conclusion is that blocking editors does not guarantee the correction of their previously made changes.

According to the report, shortly after the October 7th attacks, a Wikipedia editor moved substantial information about Hamas's antisemitism, use of human shields, and human rights violations from the main Hamas article to a separate "Criticism of Hamas" page. While the information was not deleted, its visibility significantly decreased. Although the editor was subsequently blocked, the ADL claims the consequences of this move were not systematically reviewed.

In another instance, an editor identified as Iskandar323 allegedly removed approximately 17,000 characters from the Gaza War article in November 2023, including descriptions and sources detailing victims found with wires and burned, sexual violence, and an attempted beheading. Further edits removed testimonies from soldiers and ZAKA personnel. The ADL states that the remaining text described these crimes with the qualifier "reportedly." Despite the editor's eventual full block, the ADL found that 91% of 382 reviewed edits across six articles, including "Israel," "Hamas," and "October 7th attack," remained by August.

The report also highlights ongoing disputes over wording, such as in the "Zionism" article, where claims about achieving goals "through colonization" and aiming to create a state with "as few Palestinian Arabs as possible" persisted. In the article about the October 7th attack, an editor described the attackers as "breaking out" of Gaza and removed a reference to the first invasion of Israel since 1948, though this specific edit was quickly reverted, the context it aimed to set allegedly remained.

Regarding the deaths of Shiri Bibas and her children Ariel and Kfir, an editor allegedly made 64 changes to the article about their kidnapping and death, removing the term "murder" and stating that neither Israel nor Hamas provided proof for their versions of events. This occurred after Israeli forensic experts determined the three were killed in captivity and found no confirmation of Hamas's claims that they died in an airstrike.

The ADL identified a group of approximately 30 editors who they claim coordinated changes to articles about Israel, Jews, and the conflict. While some editors were banned or blocked, the ADL's new report highlights 19 accounts, eight from the original group and 11 new ones, that they believe continue to promote a biased narrative. The ADL has had a contentious relationship with the Wikipedia community, with editors limiting the organization's use as a source due to accusations of conflating criticism of Israel with antisemitism. The ADL is now calling for a review of past edits by blocked editors, confidential verification of authors working on sensitive topics, and limitations on anonymous editing. They also propose that search engines and AI developers label Wikipedia content and update borrowed information after articles are corrected.