http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138917

Zionist Internet Struggle to Hit Wikipedia

by Elad Benari

Wikipedia has become the new battleground for Israel's PR image.


The Yisrael Sheli (My Israel) movement and the Yesha Council, which represents Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, have joined together for a new public relations initiative. Together they will soon offer a special course for volunteers who wish to write and edit English entries on Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.

Ayelet Shaked, who is heading the project, was interviewed on Monday on Arutz 7 Radio, and said that she was surprised at the large number of individuals who have gotten in touch with her so far and are interested in joining the course.

“To our surprise, many applied to attend,” said Shaked. “At first we thought to offer it to only thirty candidates, but now we are considering opening it to more.”

Shaked pointed out that despite the large number of candidates, the door is still open for other candidates who wish to attend the course. Explaining the course’s goals and methods of operation, she said: “The goal is to take part in public relations [for Israel] in English. Wikipedia has rules that one must learn in order to be able to edit entries. Not anyone can be an editor on Wikipedia. The information has to be reliable and meet certain rules. Our intention is to teach these rules as well as show how to deal with different terminology when writing these entries.”

She cited some examples of the Zionist struggle in the use of terms such as “occupation” in Wikipedia entries, as well as in the editing of entries that will link between the land of Israel, and specifically Judea and Samaria, and Jewish history.

Shaked clarified that she does not fear that wealthy leftist organizations will also take advantage of this opportunity to rise to the occasion and edit Wikipedia entries based on their own world views. She noted that such organizations are already operating in this arena, and added that as far as she is concerned the struggle should involve more action and less talk. As such she emphasized that she is not discouraged by any of the concerns described above. She concluded by once again calling on applicants who wish to participate in the course to visit the My Israel website and apply to take part in the first such Wikipedia course which is scheduled to be held in a few weeks.

According to statistics published on Wikipedia’s site, there are currently 3,367,866 content pages on the site and 12,807,029 registered users, 132,885 of which are active users who are involved in creating and editing entries.

My Israel is a network of online pro-Israel activists committed to spreading Zionism online and to counter the spread of lies and misinformation against Israel which frequently appears on the Internet. Visit www.myisrael.org.il for more information on the organization as well as to register for the Wikipedia course.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Interesting article. The only comment so far is by someone named "Phil Jessup", warning that there is an anti-semite "team" on WP.

Well, anything that stops then having the time to drive tanks over little old ladies and children has to be good. Sadly one has to suspect that these course will only attract wimpy, geeky, narky Zionists without the balls to learn Krav Maga ... even if it includes a chance to roll on the mats with the legendary Avivit.

Of course, what they are talking about is organizing meat puppet teams ... just like the Korean VANK network ... which is, of course, against the rules and, funnily enough, something that I was questioned about bringing up just a few days ago. Believe me know? I mean, who else in the world would really bother that much!?!

Jimmy ... shut the fucking thing down please or at the very least ... where is the 'flagged revisions' you promised a year ago?



Wait until the guys at the Electronic Intifada sniff this one ... God, the thought of it all alone is so tiresome.

"wealthy leftist organizations"??

Huh? I wish they could name one. Nay, I wish I could name one.

Not that there is anything new in this. It puts this in perspective.

The thing is: I have seen lots of stuff over the years from pro-Israeli sources who are systematically recruiting /educating editors for WP.
Arutz 7 just follows in the footsteps of CAMERA, JIDF and others.

I have never, ever seen any such campaign from any pro-Palestinian group (& I follow several of them rather closely). If it hasn´t dawned on them yet: pro-Palestinian groups mainly (AFAIK) sees the 2.0 web as a "lost cause"; completely flooded with pro-Israeli propagandists.

Haaratz article

And http://wikibias.com/2010/08/wikipedia-a-how-to-guide/ gives advice on how to look like a newbie.

That site is owned and the article was written by User:Eric1985. He hasn't been very active on wp lately, at least with that account. He also owns isrealsituation.com, where he mentions wikibias but fails to note that he is the owner.

Finally, finally I have found something to correct Tarantino for It is israelsituation.com, not isrealsituation.com

And thanks for the links! 50 right-wing Israelis taking courses in how to "play" wikipedia, with prizes for the best "player". (The ban against payed editing is not for pro-Israelis?)

I misspell Israel wrong half the time, and the spell checker alerts me, but domain names are mostly flagged as misspelled so I didn't notice this time :)

Bill Gate's foundation.

Anything Soros funds (quite a few, like MoveOn.org).

Green Peace.

Sierra Club.

Amnesty International.

Southern Poverty Law Center (they definitely rake in the money without really spending it on anything).

Anything Al Gore is part of.

etc etc etc

Agree. There is no benefit of "free" knowledge when it becomes soiled with biases. For the sake of humanities future, wikipedia must be closed down

No, no, no, you guys have it wrong.

Merely pointing this out won't cause them to shut WP down. What ya wanna do is, to start YOUR OWN WIKIPEDIA BIASING ORGANIZATION. It doesn't even matter what the subject is, you could write about dark rye bread vs. light rye if you wish. Just as long as you're running a public, blatant project to insert bias into WP, and better yet, offer money for people to do so.

More such projects means more publicity, leading to poorer public relations for the WMF and their fanboys.

And have a nice day.

A modest proposal: instead of struggling each day to maintain his current level of posting, where he authors 20% of all WR posts, Moulton takes a WR-break, and forms a task force which will attempt to bias WP toward red-heads.

Now that's just not true! I, for one, write all my own material.

I wonder what proportion of 'pedians are gingerpates.

Damn ... they moved the Avavit video.

Boy, I'd hate to face her when she has her PMT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8XBDtIVVYA

Did anyone see this hot story?

Israelis have been manipulating the US media for a LONG time.
Wikipedia is at the bottom of the pile, I suspect.....

Memory lane, 1964:



The number of nuclear weapons Israel has is STILL not a topic of wide discussion. That's still pretty successful.




Marty Gellhorn. That's Ernest Hemingstein (inside joke, there) Hemingway's third wife. A writer always too competitive for him. A neatness freak who called him "the pig." Hemingway was antisemitic when he met her, and possibly more so after he divorced her.



But don't you dare say the Jews are attempting to control the media, as that's antisemitic. Says so, here in the paper....



A lot of the goys can't write, and those that can, have to come to us to get published, anyway.

Well, this campaign is proving a triumph. Eric is now going to have to take his own advice on how to look like a newbie [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Eric1985&diff=380135219&oldid=375798205/]. Jiujitsuguy has gone the same way. [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Jiujitsuguy&diff=prev&oldid=380069062/] they'll have so much to blog about. I mean thatadmin's name for a start...

Now, if they could start using sighted edits sensibly to protect the battleground articles from propaganda campaigns from sockpuppets and their IP addresses but allow sensible edits by newbies to get through the screening process, we might get somewhere.

Here's the report up on YouTube!

They want to make sure articles are "balanced and Zionist in nature".

Also on the NYTimes blog.

Pro-Zionist editor User:Wikifan12345 seems to be admitting that he's a sockpuppet:

"David Appletree", the founder of the Jewish Internet Defense Force is a pseudonym.

The JIDF, with 54.000 followers on twitter, has made numerous forays into social media sites such as wp and keeps a list of problematic wp editors here.

An interview with a "David Appletree" can be heard here.

http://www.jewishcommunityradio.org/audio/JIDF.mp3

- edited to remove speculation.

You're mistaken. Gerson's a Brit and Appletree's a Yank. I've heard both via the miracles of the internet and they sound quite different. Appletree's best known Wikipedia persona is Einsteindonut (T-C-L-K-R-D) but the socks are numerous.

Might be referring to this topic ban.

Ok.

Wikifan was referring to having been topic banned, not site banned. I think there are a fair number of WR members who have experienced either, or both, and how that can happen rather rapidly.

Wikibias certainly has a point of view, but its just a public blog that discusses what someone thinks is wrong with WP. I do not see why, even if you don't like the point of view, that is a big deal. I find it very troubling that a user should get blocked over opinions on a public blog.

Malcolm Schosha

I do not see how their list amounts to more than WR's Dick of Distinction awards.

Malcolm Schosha

Well, WR isn't associated with a paramilitary organization that has a habit of assassinating people. At least, not that I know of.

huh? Just which WP users have been assassinated by JIDF? The list amounts to no more than WR's Dick of Distinction awards.

Malcolm Schosha

W-R (and WP) limit themselves to character assassination — a practice that both sites are quite adept at.

An earlier discussion of their list may be found here.

Their list is interesting. It includes Nishidani (T-C-L-K-R-D) , about whose poetic prowess one may read in this thread. G-Dett (T-C-L-K-R-D) , who has made a good showing in our Cojones de latón polls, also makes the list. So does Eleland (T-C-L-K-R-D) , who has an account here.

I assume you'd say the same if Hezbollah or Hamas posted a list with similar details about pro-zionist editors? They haven't assassinated any Wikipediots either, afaik.

When the discussion turns to issues involving Zionism it quickly becomes clear just how polarized list members are on matters involving the I/P disputes. Many, if not most members have a bias to one side or the other of the issues, mostly biased toward the P side....as is the case with our beloved moderator Herschelkrustofsky. So in discussing I/P issues, instead of analyzing WP problems, the list just models WP's problems. Feh.

Malcolm Schosha

I thought we were discussing a POV group that proudly announces that it is training people to edit Wikipedia to forward their cause, and a perhaps-related group that seems to be engaging in intimidating people of the opposing POV who edit Wikipedia.

What's interesting about it is the "openly and proudly announcing" part. I'm sure the DNC or RNC wouldn't be so unabashed to do it like that, since it would only serve to energize the other side.

That must be because, according to the popular website politicalcompass.org, I am:
Economic Left/Right: -8.38
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.74

...putting me slightly southwest of Nelson Mandela. All kidding aside, I feel an affinity, both musical and political, with Yehudi Menuhin and Daniel Barenboim. This would include the issues of Zionism and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

An interesting test (sorry to disrupt the thread). I got

Economic Left/Right: -0.12
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: 0.97

almost dead in the centre.

Meanwhile, back on topic, there's a tremendous amount of handwringing going on at ANI. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:ANI...ael.2FPalestine

People are pointing out (rightly I think) that the 'how to' guide is simply dishing out advice to remain civil and calm and suchlike Wiki crap. What's the harm in that (well plenty, but nothing a Wikipedo would remotely disagree with). And that this facebook event

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Adm...aza_War_article.

prompted zero sanctions en-wiki

Yes. On the Wikibias blog, for instance, there is some complaining about Wikipedia in general, and a few WP articles in particular. Even if you do not agree with the blog's point of view, there is nothing I can see that justifies indeffing the account of who they think wrote it. That blockhead Sandstein keeps using the word "covert" to describe the blog. But if anyone who wants to can read the blog, how is that covert?

The accusation is really "conspiracy", a common charge used by the US government that makes me more edgy all the time. I keep reading that the US government has charged some small group of Muslims with conspiracy. That seems to be making a criminal case out of having bad thoughts. A thought crime. Maybe what happens is that a few guys get together and bragg about Jihad. But even if they said they want to blow up the White House, why is that a crime if they never actually tried to do it?

Same with is. If Sandstein, or someone, thinks whoever writes Wikibias may have bad thoughts, how does that justify a block? Where is the wiki-crime?

Malcolm Schosha

I never cared for Barenboim's playing much. Menuhin was a great violinist, but the man was a complete flake.

Malcolm Schosha

Not Israel-related, but it's curious watching Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Richard Wagner's first love. This article was created by Mbz1 (T-C-L-K-R-D) shortly before she decided to retire. Of the participants, Smerus (T-C-L-K-R-D) , Dogbertd (T-C-L-K-R-D) and Peter cohen (T-C-L-K-R-D) are all in WP:Wagner and know about it through that project and watching Richard Wagner; Grapebowl (T-C-L-K-R-D) whose contributions have been redacted is the latest sockpuppet of Mbz1's stalker; ברוקולי (T-C-L-K-R-D) , who signs posts as Broccoli even though there is another user of that name, is Mbz1's groupie and knows about things that way. There are some afd watchers, but how has the usual Zionist gang arrived there? There are no obvious on-wiki links to follow especially as Mbz1 redacted her talk page.

Looking at this in more depth, I see that Epeefleche (T-C-L-K-R-D) , Jayjg (T-C-L-K-R-D) and Shuki (T-C-L-K-R-D) but not brewcrewer (T-C-L-K-R-D) have some other afd !vo tes in their last 500 contributions. However, they have all managed to vote in a way that goes against that followed by both the more regular afders and the Wagnerites. And two of the latter are also Jews but not ones who are part of the Wikizionist voting block.

I believe these numbers will seem wholly incongruous to anyone with a passing familiarity with the political views you've expressed in this forum.

Perhaps you mis-read several of the questions, and/or submitted your responses via butterfly-ballot.

This is what I meant when I wrote earlier by Wikipedia Review modeling Wikipedia's I/P dispute problems, not analyzing them. This message is a perfect example of a biased pov.

The stuff about Mbz1 is complete bullshit, based on nothing but your dislike of her point of view.

Malcolm Schosha

Ah. So Mbz1 does not feel that she has been chased of Wikipedia by a stalker, then?

Both times you said that it was in response to a comment that didn't seem to be modeling the dispute, but rather discussing what appears to be a cabal doing strategic things. Not that they're the only cabal around, of course, but they might deserve an award for lack of subtlety.

Are you saying she was a victim of the Zionist conspiracy? Or the anti-Zionist conspiracy? It's hard to keep track without a scorecard.

When Mbz1 started to write WP articles her English was so bad that virtually no one could understand well enough to fix the problems, which were many. Since I have been associated with educated people who spoke English poorly all my life, I was able to fix up some of the problems. I was already indeffed then, and did the editing as an IP user. Her English seems to have improved now, and probably there are others who help now.

She certainly thinks she has been hounded by antisemitic opponents. I would say the problem is WP:BAIT and WP:TROLL. In my view antisemitism is so common in the world that there is no point in complaining about low level (garden variety antisemites). I have friends who certainly have some antisemitic ideas in their intellectual inventory. Such people never think they are antisemitic because they think only Nazis are antisemitic. Probably what people think is not so important anyhow, its what they do. There were people who, during WW2, who certainly had antisemetic ideas, but who risked their lives to save Jews from Nazis anyhow. To me, what counts is what people do.

Mbz1 is probably just too emotional to hold up under the stress and the meanness that is typical of discussion on I/P conflict articles. SelfHater seems to have been one of her editorial opponents and just wants to add her scalp to his/her belt. That is the way things are in the I/P articles, and Mbz1 does not deal with it well.

Malcolm Schosha

Yes. Certainly I would say the same.

Malcolm Schosha

This comment jumped out right away:
The assumption that the "Arab media" are not "mainstream sources" is a sterling example of Wikipedia:Systemic bias. Of course, those who exhibit this particular bias ([cough] SlimVirgin) are most likely exhibiting it selectively in order to exclude sources they don't like, but as a tactic it generally goes unchallenged in the various POV skirmishes.


I have noted for some time that you find my political views befuddling. FWIW, I answered the questions at the "political compass" site without hesitation. A lot of them have to do with whether the interests of private business should take precedence over what the Preamble to the US Constitution calls the "general welfare," and you ought to know by now how I am likely to answer such a question. Asked whether I would agree with the proposition that "There is now a worrying fusion of information and entertainment," my answer would be, of course, "damn straight!" I should think that anyone who knows the opinions I have posted here should be able to enter them in the test and get roughly the same results I got.

How is pointing out the political nature of the keep !votes (other than Mbz1's own) adding her scalp to my belt? The political nature may either be on a micro-scale (backing an allied editor on Wikipedia) or a macro one (giving an exaggerated importance to an infatuation where it appears that the object of the infatuation wasn't even aware of it just because she was Jewish). No one who is not a member of the Wikizionist lobby has !voted keep.

The strongest arguments for deletion have come from another Jew. However, Smerus is not a member of the Wikizionist lobby and therefore is going where the evidence takes him not where his politics makes him want it to take him. Given his expertise in this matter -his PhD was on the subject of Jews in classical music - his discounting this story as trivia should carry a lot of weight. Of course Wikpedias anti-expert democracy means that the article is going survive with an outcome of no consensus because of the political votes of the Wikizionists.

Hey SelfHater, you really manage to say some dumb stuff. For instance: "How is pointing out the political nature of the keep votes..." That is the whole fucking problem in that one phrase, a fragment of a sentence. You are saying that the WP users who oppose your editorial goal of deleting an article are being "political". But your interest in deletion is as pure as the driven snow, purely an idealistic interest in the good of Wikipedia. What laughable bullshit. What you are doing is trying to eliminate your editorial opposition.

The editing of the I/P articles does nothing better than reflect the situation on the ground in the conflict over Israel/Palestine. I have no idea how the mess involving the I/P conflict articles can be resolved. But if even WP editors can not manage to take the advice of the Dalai Lama, it is difficult to see how the actual conflict can be resolved either. http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-..._100143699.html

By the way, SelfHater, why are you hiding your WP identity?

Malcolm Schosha

Virtually the entire problem as it is experienced today disappears if one adopts a strictly enforced "no mainstream media sources" policy. Not just for this completely useless area, but for all articles.

If only it was a technical fix that would resolve the problem, how wonderful that would be.

But, as it says in the UNESCO Constitution, "...since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed...". I consider that true. That also makes clear why the solution is so difficult. Changing the rules is easy, but changing how people think is difficult, and impossible to mandate.

The commonly held attitude in these conflicts, and wiki-conflicts, is 'if I do it to you it is good, but if you do it to me it is bad'. Feh.

Malcolm Schosha


But man, proud man,
Drest in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he’s most assured,
His glassy essence, like an angry ape,
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven
As make the angels weep.

Measure for Measure. Act ii. Sc. 2

I am no longer sure what you are talking about.

You seemed to be wanting a solution for the interminable cluster fuck on-wiki re: Israel vs. Palestine.

I gave you one. Simply remove the major source of the on-wiki conflict -- namely, idiot ideologues on both sides reading the news and taking it straight to the encyclopedia for inclusion. Nipped in the bud, this solution also has many other desirable properties as well, ones that transcend this middle east idiocy.

Now it seems you want a solution to the actual Israel/Palestine problem itself, and, apparently hope that will magically solve the wiki problem. Well, all I can say is "good luck with that".