This press release is also available online here: https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_re… <https://wikimediafoundation.org/wiki/Press_releases/Wikimedia_Foundation_receives_$500,000_from_the_Craig_Newmark_Foundation_and_craigslist_Charitable_Fund_to_support_a_healthy_and_inclusive_Wikimedia_community> And as a blog post on the Wikimedia blog here: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2017/01/26/community-health-initiative-grant/ Wikimedia Foundation receives $500,000 from the Craig Newmark Foundation and craigslist Charitable Fund to support a healthy and inclusive Wikimedia community Grant supports development of more advanced tools for volunteers and staff to reduce harassing behavior on Wikipedia and block harassers from the site SAN FRANCISCO — January 26, 2017 — Today, the Wikimedia Foundation announced the launch of a community health initiative to address harassment and toxic behavior on Wikipedia, with initial funding of US$500,000 from the Craig Newmark Foundation and craigslist Charitable Fund. The two seed grants, each US$250,000, will support the development of tools for volunteer editors and staff to reduce harassment on Wikipedia and block harassers. Approximately 40% of internet users <http://www.pewinternet.org/2014/10/22/online-harassment/>, and as many as 70% of younger users have personally experienced harassment online, with regional studies showing rates as high as 76% <https://www.symantec.com/en/au/about/newsroom/press-releases/2016/symantec_0309_01> for young women. While harassment differs across the internet, on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects, harassment has been shown to reduce participation on the sites. More than 50% <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Harassment_Survey_2015_-_Results_Report.pdf> of people who reported experiencing harassment also reported decreasing their participation in the Wikimedia community. Volunteer editors on Wikipedia are often the first line of response for finding and addressing harassment on Wikipedia. "Trolling <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll>," "doxxing <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxing>," and other menacing behaviors are burdens to Wikipedia's contributors, impeding their ability to do the writing and editing that makes Wikipedia so comprehensive and useful. This program seeks to respond to requests from editors over the years for better tools and support for responding to harassment and toxic behavior. “To ensure Wikipedia’s vitality, people of good will need to work together to prevent trolling, harassment and cyber-bullying from interfering with the common good,” said Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist. “To that end, I'm supporting the work of the Wikimedia Foundation towards the prevention of harassment.” The initiative is part of a commitment to community health at the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization that supports Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects, in collaboration with the global community of volunteer editors. In 2015, the Foundation published its first Harassment Survey <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Harassment_survey_2015> about the nature of the issue in order to identify key areas of concern. In November 2016, the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees issued a statement of support <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation_Board_noticeboard/November_2016_-_Statement_on_Healthy_Community_Culture,_Inclusivity,_and_Safe_Spaces> calling for a more “proactive” approach to addressing harassment as a barrier to healthy, inclusive communities on Wikipedia. "If we want everyone to share in the sum of all knowledge, we need to make sure everyone feels welcome,” said Katherine Maher, Executive Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. “This grant supports a healthy culture for the volunteer editors of Wikipedia, so that more people can take part in sharing knowledge with the world." The generous funding from the Craig Newmark Foundation and craigslist Charitable Fund will support the initial phase of a program <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_health_initiative> to strengthen existing tools and develop additional tools to more quickly identify potentially harassing behavior, and help volunteer administrators evaluate harassment reports and respond effectively. These improvements will be made in close collaboration with the Wikimedia community to evaluate, test, and give feedback on the tools as they are developed. This initiative addresses the major forms of harassment reported on the Wikimedia Foundation’s 2015 Harassment Survey <https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Harassment_Survey_2015_-_Results_Report.pdf&page=17>, which covers a wide range of different behaviors: content vandalism, stalking, name-calling, trolling, doxxing, discrimination—anything that targets individuals for unfair and harmful attention. From research and community feedback, four areas have been identified where new tools could be beneficial in addressing and responding to harassment: * Detection and prevention - making it easier and faster for editors to identify and flag harassing behavior * Reporting - providing victims and respondents of harassment improved ways to report instances that offer a clearer, more streamlined approach * Evaluating - supporting tools that help volunteers better evaluate harassing behavior and inform the best way to respond * Blocking - making it more difficult for someone who is blocked from the site to return For more information, please visit: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Community_health_initiative About the Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization that supports and operates Wikipedia and its sister projects. More than a billion unique devices access the Wikimedia sites each month. Roughly 75,000 people edit Wikipedia and its sister projects every month, collectively creating and improving its more than 40 million articles across hundreds of languages – this all makes Wikipedia one of the most popular web properties in the world. Based in San Francisco, California, the Wikimedia Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity that is funded primarily through donations and grants. About Wikipedia Wikipedia is the world’s free knowledge resource. It is a collaborative creation that has been added to and edited by millions of people from around the globe since it was created in 2001: anyone can edit it, at any time. Wikipedia is offered in hundreds of languages containing more than 40 million articles. Wikimedia and its sister projects are collectively visited by more than a billion unique devices each month. Harassment takes different forms on Wikipedia than it does on other major websites. Unlike other platforms, Wikipedia editors generally don’t write about their personal lives. Instead, on Wikipedia, harassment usually begins as a content dispute between editors that results in an attack on an editor’s personal attributes—their gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation—based on something that they’ve shared, or an assumption based on the user’s edit history. About the Craig Newmark Foundation The Craig Newmark Foundation (CNF) is a private foundation created by craigslist founder Craig Newmark in 2016 to support and connect nonprofit communities and drive powerful civic engagement. The Foundation’s priorities include Trustworthy Journalism, Veterans and Military Families, Voter Protection and Education, Consumer Protection and Education, Public Diplomacy, Government Transparency, Micro-Lending to Alleviate Poverty, and Women in Tech. About craigslist Charitable Fund The craigslist Charitable Fund (CCF) provides millions of dollars each year in one-time and recurring grants to hundreds of partner organizations addressing four broad areas of interest including Environment and Transportation; Education, Rights, Justice, and Reason; Nonviolence, Veterans and Peace; and Journalism, Open Source, and Internet. Press contacts Craig Newmark Foundation Bruce Bonafede press(a)craigconnects.org Wikimedia Foundation Juliet Barbara jbarbara(a)wikimedia.org (415) 839-6885 -- *Samantha Lien* Communications Manager Wikimedia Foundation 149 New Montgomery Street San Francisco, CA 94105 (To be unsubscribed from this press release distribution list, please reply to communications(a)wikimedia.org with 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the subject line)