Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

Wikipedia's secret agent: CIA role in 'moderating' online Encyclopedia

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Global Village Space.
  • 3 Aug 2023 15:17
  • 7 Shares
3 Min Read

Larry Sanger says intelligence agencies have been exerting control over the online encyclopedia for over ten years.

  • x
  • The webpage of the encyclopedia website Wikipedia shows a stark black-and-white page with the message:
    The webpage of encyclopedia website Wikipedia shows a stark black-and-white page with the message: "Imagine a world without free knowledge", at an office in Brussels, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012 (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

Speaking on Greenwald’s ‘System Update’ podcast, Larry Sanger, co-founder of Wikipedia, has accused the "US liberal establishment and intelligence community" of using the site for "information warfare," as reported by Global Village Space.

He has told journalist Glenn Greenwald that the platform he helped create has become an instrument of control for what he described as "left-liberal entities", including the CIA, FBI, and other US intelligence agencies.

Sanger highlighted that evidence suggests CIA and FBI computers were used as early as 2008 to edit Wikipedia articles. This activity was first brought to light in 2007 by a programming student named Virgil Griffith, who developed a program called WikiScanner to track edits made from certain locations. 

The hidden cyberwar

CIA computers were involved in removing casualty counts from the Iraq War, and an FBI machine was used to erase aerial and satellite images of the US prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Additionally, CIA computers were responsible for editing numerous articles, including those related to then-Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, China's nuclear program, and the Argentine navy, as per Sanger.

“[The intelligence agencies] pay off the most influential people to push their agendas, which they’re already mostly in line with, or they just develop their own talent within the [intelligence] community, learn the Wikipedia game, and then push what they want to say with their own people,” Sanger told Greenwald.

“A great part of intelligence and information warfare is conducted online,” he stressed, “on websites like Wikipedia.” 

It was found that these intelligence agencies and major corporations were scrubbing Wikipedia of incriminating information. Sanger added that the agencies manipulate the content by paying off influential individuals or developing their own talent within the intelligence community.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he divulged that intelligence and information warfare have a significant online component, with platforms like Wikipedia being utilized for these purposes.

Read next: Twitter, Fb, TikTok, more are run by the FBI, CIA, and NATO

Sanger's allegations echo other instances where major online platforms were allegedly influenced or manipulated by intelligence agencies to control narratives and censor certain content.

The pro-#Palestine accounts were constantly trying to block a sudden influx of suspicious followers on #Twitter.
Some experts said this could "degrade the algorithmic quality of a Twitter account so that it possibly gets suspended," thus, censored. pic.twitter.com/TotB8e9aIU

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) April 30, 2022

Earlier this year, Elon Musk, the owner of X (formerly Twitter), disclosed a collection of documents revealing that the platform's former executives collaborated with the FBI to eliminate content the agency sought to conceal.

The documents also indicated that Twitter assisted the US military in online influence campaigns and engaged in censorship of "anti-Ukraine narratives" on behalf of various US intelligence agencies. Similarly, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that Facebook, the largest social media platform globally, censored accurate information that could harm President Joe Biden's 2020 election campaign, following a direct request from the FBI.

Read next: Gag rule on Palestinians continues, TikTok joins ban policy
 

  • online Encyclopedia
  • cyberwarfare
  • social media
  • Wikipedia
  • CIA
  • FBI

Most Read

Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Britain Trained Israeli Soldiers Involved in Gaza War: Declassified
Europe

UK training of Israeli officers sparks outcry over Gaza war complicity

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Politics

Luxembourg to recognize Palestine at UN summit next week

European Union flags flap in the wind outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

EU exec. branch to adopt new sanctions against 'Israel' on Wednesday

Charlie Kirk killing suspect faces charges in Utah court hearing
US & Canada

Charlie Kirk murder suspect faces formal charges in Utah court hearing

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS