Would it be worth Wikimedia UK's while to put out a blog post talking about quality control processes (ad-hoc as they are) on Wikipedia? Not so much as a direct reply - both because these articles look like they're just filling empty column inches, and because we obviously can't prove a negative (that "Russian trolls" *aren't* running amok on political articles). Rather as a timely reminder of what Wikipedia is about and how the 'wisdom of the crowd' makes it quite difficult to grossly distort its content. I could say something about what admins do, though there I'm sure there are people who spend more time on politicians' biographies than I do.
Harry Mitchell http://enwp.org/User:HJ +44 (0) 7507 536 971 Skype: harry_j_mitchell On Mon, Jan 15, 2018 at 10:53 AM, Lucy Crompton-Reid < lucy.crompton-r...@wikimedia.org.uk> wrote: > 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 <fae...@gmail.com> 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 >> wikimediau...@wikimedia.org >> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l >> WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Wikimedia UK mailing list >> wikimediau...@wikimedia.org >> 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.* > > _______________________________________________ > Wikimedia UK mailing list > wikimediau...@wikimedia.org > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l > WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk >
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