Hi Fae No, I don't think you misunderstood the coverage!
Wikimedia UK hasn't actually responded at all to this and we didn't receive any enquiries - the Mail and the Sun got in touch directly with the Foundation who provided the statement. Cheers Lucy On 15 January 2018 at 10:50, Fæ <[email protected]> wrote: > As far as I could see this story lacked any facts, not even one tangible > example of attempted manipulation. I'd appreciate a link if I misunderstood > the press coverage. > > It might be a good use of resources to just keep saying "please provide an > example" before responding to what is probably itself fake news. Otherwise > one keeps on focusing on flying teapots rather than stuff that matters for > open knowledge. > > Thanks, > Fae > https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/LGBT+ > http://telegram.me/wmlgbt > > > On 12 Jan 2018 21:48, "Lucy Crompton-Reid" <lucy.crompton-reid@wikimedia. > org.uk> wrote: > > Dear all > > I just wanted to give the Wikimedia UK community a heads up that Wikipedia > may be in the spotlight in the coming days, as the Daily Mail and the Sun > are planning to run a story tomorrow about how MPs have (apparently) been > given briefings about concerns Russian trolls are planting ‘fake news’ on > Wikipedia to corroborate the false information they spread on Twitter. The > stories are likely to say that not enough checks are being done by > Wikipedia to make sure the content on the site is not fake. > > I'm not personally aware of any such briefings to MPs regarding Wikipedia, > although the most recent oral evidence to the DCMS Fake News inquiry does > refer to known Russian sources on WikiLeaks (with particular reference to > the US election). Obviously I'm assuming that the UK press will know the > difference between Wikipedia and WikiLeaks, but the claims are apparently > linked to the inquiry and this is all I've been able to uncover this > evening. > > The Wikimedia Foundation press team has sent a short response to these > claims, as follows: > > Wikipedia’s open, transparent model is uniquely resistant to > misinformation. Anyone can edit Wikipedia, to fix mistakes or expand > articles, provided their contributions are neutral and based in reliable > sources. Thousands of people do just this on Wikipedia every day. Nearly > every edit ever made to Wikipedia is available to the public, so anyone can > see how an article has changed over time. Wikipedia is always improving, > and this open model creates accountability and means that bias tends to be > rooted out quickly, leading to a more balance version of the facts over > time. > > Best wishes > > Lucy > > -- > > Lucy Crompton-Reid > > Chief Executive > > Wikimedia UK > > +44 (0) 203 372 0762 > > > > Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and > Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered > Office Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ. > > Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The > Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate > Wikipedia, amongst other projects). > *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control > over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.* > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia UK mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l > WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk > > > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia UK mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l > WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk > -- Lucy Crompton-Reid Chief Executive Wikimedia UK +44 (0) 203 372 0762 Wikimedia UK is a Company Limited by Guarantee registered in England and Wales, Registered No. 6741827. Registered Charity No.1144513. Registered Office Ground Floor, Europoint, 5 - 11 Lavington Street, London SE1 0NZ. Wikimedia UK is the UK chapter of a global Wikimedia movement. The Wikimedia projects are run by the Wikimedia Foundation (who operate Wikipedia, amongst other projects). *Wikimedia UK is an independent non-profit charity with no legal control over Wikipedia nor responsibility for its contents.*
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