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-reid@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 <faewik@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, 


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.


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_______________________________________________
Wikimedia UK mailing list
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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
wikimediauk-l@wikimedia.org
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimediauk-l
WMUK: https://wikimedia.org.uk