[WikiEN-l] Conflict of Interest and lobbyists for foreign governments

[Thomas Dalton]

>  Wikipedia is not an objective resource but rather an online encyclopedia
> that any one can edit. The result is a website that is in large part is
> controlled by 'intellectuals' who seek re-write the history of the
> Arab-Israeli conflict. These authors have systematically yet subtly
> rewritten key passages of thousands of Wikipedia entries to portray Israel
> in a negative light.

How's that for arrogance? How many of the "intellectuals" that
"control" Wikipedia really give a damn about the Arab-Israeli conflict
(enough to spread propaganda, anyway)? And thousands of articles? I
very much doubt there are that many articles on Israel...

> This looks like a concerted and funded effort to push a particular political
> POV on wikipedia. If there is a "team" of people paid to edit Israel related
> articles in a POV fashion shouldn't they be required to declare their
> Conflict of Interest? Should employees or other individuals paid by Aish
> HaTorah, which runs the Hasbara Fellowships program on behalf of and with
> funding by Israel's Foreign Ministry, have to declare their COI if they edit
> Israel related articles?

I think there are enough Wikipedians watching Israel related articles
to stop any such foul play. However, someone should probably email
that address and explain the correct way to go about correcting a
perceived bias on Wikipedia.