The ADL says Wikipedia contains antisemitic bias, amid dispute over how the Israel-Gaza conflict is represented on the site

The Anti-Defamation League has found evidence of antisemitic and anti-Israel bias on Wikipedia, it said in a Tuesday report, marking the latest rift between the advocacy group and the world’s largest online encyclopedia over how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be portrayed on the site.

The Anti-Defamation League has found evidence of antisemitic and anti-Israel bias on Wikipedia, it said in a Tuesday report, marking the latest rift between the advocacy group and the world’s largest online encyclopedia over how the Israeli-Palestinian conflict should be portrayed on the site. The ADL claims it identified a network of Wikipedia editors – volunteer moderators for the popular information websites – who appear to have coordinated to “circumvent Wikipedia’s policies to introduce antisemitic narratives, anti-Israel bias, and misleading information” in Israeli and Palestinian-related entries. The report also accuses Wikipedia of failing to enforce its neutrality policy. But Wikipedia said the ADL’s report includes “unsupported and problematic claims,” according to a statement from a spokesperson for the Wikimedia Foundation, which manages the site. “The Foundation takes seriously allegations of bias on Wikipedia,” the spokesperson said. “We categorically condemn antisemitism and all forms of hate. It is unfortunate that we were not asked by the report’s authors to provide information and context that might have helped allay some of the concerns raised.” The report from the Jewish civil rights group comes amid broader tension among users and observers of the online encyclopedia over how the Israel-Gaza war should be covered on the site, with editors quarrelling over how to describe events related to the conflict. Wikipedia says it has already been working to fend off bad actors accused of manipulating the platform. Last year, Wikipedia editors labeled the ADL as “generally unreliable regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” because of its dual role as an advocacy and research organization, but “generally reliable” on other topics. The ADL said at the time that the decision was “a sad development for research and education” and that it would prevent information on antisemitism from reaching the public.