Your professor was right, don’t rely on Wikipedia: Anti-Israel bias intensifies after October 7

As if in lockstep with the global rise in antisemitism, Wikipedia’s anti-Israel slant has been worsening during Israel's more than year-long multi-front war. The distortion of truth has become so extreme that even AI tools flagged up an article on Zionism as biased, according to a report in YNet. 

As of November 5, the Wikipedia article begins by describing Zionism as “an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century and aimed for the establishment of a Jewish state through the colonization of a land outside Europe.” It continues, “With the rejection of alternative proposals for a Jewish state, it eventually focused on establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine, a region corresponding to the Land of Israel in Judaism, and of central importance in Jewish history.”

“History is being rewritten,” complained user Liv Lovisa, as the entry has been changed dramatically from the more nuanced and balanced wording from before October 7, 2023.

Zionism is now defined as a colonial enterprise, which is not possible since before the reestablishment of Israel there was no state from which to colonize any other.

Respected history scholar, Prof. Eric Méchoulan pointed out: “You can’t colonize without a metropolis! There is no Jewish state from where to send colonists.”

Other scholars of history Middle Eastern studies, including, Dr. Kobby Barda, and Dr. Adi Schwartz have also echoed their concerns.

College professors often warn their students not to use Wikipedia as a source when laying out expectations for academic research papers, and for good reason. The crowd-sourced information site has suffered from credibility issues from its inception, despite efforts to maintain neutrality and reliability.

However, Wikipedia has become the world’s go-to source of information, typically appearing at the top of any Google search. Those looking for quick answers and information will regularly rely on the internet’s best known encyclopedia despite its problems. We’ve all done it. 

From its beginnings in January 2001, Wikipedia has become a behemoth, growing into the world’s largest reference website with over a billion visitors each month. The website boasts more than 63 million articles in over 300 languages, almost seven million of which are in English. 

Wikipedia relies on entries and editing from the public, with a team of editors and curators overseeing the activity. “Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that anyone can edit, and millions already have,” the website’s entry says of itself.

However, as their website explains, "Wikipedia has no central editorial board. Contributions are made by a large number of volunteers at their own discretion. Edits are neither the responsibility of the Wikimedia Foundation (the organization that hosts the site) nor of its staff.” As countless celebrities and organizations have discovered, this can lead to editing by the majority and result in wildly inaccurate representations with no recourse for correction. 

The twisted version of history offered to those wanting to learn about Zionism has led to considerable outrage, with the ADL posting on X: “Unfortunately, our concerns about antisemitism, bias, & misinformation on Wikipedia were well founded. Their new definition of Zionism is historically inaccurate, derogatory & erases or misconstrues the experiences of millions of Jews, including Ashkenazi, Mizrahi, Sephardic, African and others.”

The ADL describes itself as the world’s leading anti-hate organization, established “to stop the defamation of the Jewish people and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.”

However, Wikipedia editors recently made the controversial decision to label the Anti-Defamation League as "a source that is generally unreliable." As a result, all data or statements from the ADL will be automatically rejected by Wikipedia. The move was roundly criticized by the ADL, who bemoaned in a written statement, "Apparently, facts no longer matter."