Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee have initiated an investigation into accusations of organized efforts to inject bias into Wikipedia entries and the organization’s responses to these alleged actions. Wikipedia has long served as a key component in Big Tech’s censorship and bias machine.
The Hill reports that in a move to address concerns about the manipulation of information on a site that holds major influence in everything from Google searches to training AI, House Republicans have opened a probe into claims of bias on Wikipedia. The investigation, spearheaded by Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), chair of the panel’s subcommittee on cybersecurity, information technology, and government innovation, seeks to uncover the extent of organized efforts to inject bias into Wikipedia entries and the Wikimedia Foundation’s responses to such actions.
On Wednesday, Comer and Mace sent an information request to Maryana Iskander, CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit that controls Wikipedia. The lawmakers stated that the request is part of a broader investigation into “foreign operations and individuals at academic institutions subsidized by U.S. taxpayer dollars to influence U.S. public opinion.”
The panel is requesting documents and communications related to Wikipedia volunteer editors who have violated the platform’s policies, as well as information about the Wikimedia Foundation’s efforts to prevent intentional, organized attempts to inject bias into sensitive or political topics. The lawmakers cited reports highlighting coordinated campaigns to manipulate content related to the Israel-Palestine conflict and pro-Russia actors pushing pro-Kremlin and anti-Ukrainian messaging on Wikipedia. The potential impact of such bias extends beyond the platform itself, as the information on Wikipedia can influence how AI chatbots are trained as well as featuring prominently in Google searches.
The Wikimedia Foundation has stated that it has received the request and is currently reviewing it. A spokesperson for the organization said, “We welcome the opportunity to respond to the Committee’s questions and to discuss the importance of safeguarding the integrity of information on our platform.”
Wikipedia has long faced accusations of political bias in its entries. A 2024 report from the right-leaning Manhattan Institute found that Wikipedia entries are more likely to attach a negative sentiment to right-leaning terms. The current investigation by House Republicans aims to shed light on the extent of these issues and the measures taken by the Wikimedia Foundation to address them.
Breitbart News reported in April that Ed Markey accused to the platform of allowing foreign actors to push propaganda on Americans:
“Wikipedia is permitting information manipulation on its platform, including the rewriting of key, historical events and biographical information of current and previous American leaders, as well as other matters implicating the national security and the interests of the United States,” he continued.
“Masking propaganda that influences public opinion under the guise of providing informational material is antithetical to Wikimedia’s ‘educational’ mission,” Martin added, citing the Wikimedia Foundation’s 2023 IRS Form 990, which stated its mission is to allow “people around the world to collect and develop educational content” to be disseminated globally.
Beyond allegations of foreign actors, Wikipedia has demonstrated severe leftist bias for more than a decade. In one recent example, Wikipedia editors worked feverishly to push the idea that Donald Trump is a fascist in the weeks leading into the 2024 election:
The investigation identified multiple Wikipedia articles, including “Trumpism,” “Donald Trump and Fascism,” “Fascism in North America,” and “Racial views of Donald Trump,” that demonstrate coordinated editing patterns. The “Trumpism” article alone contains 31 distinct references to fascism, with one particular editor, JJMesserly, contributing 50.5 percent of the article’s content.
A detailed examination of the sources used in these articles reveals a pattern of selective citation. For instance, a 2016 Scientific American article by professors Stephen Reicher and Alexander Haslam was used to support certain characterizations, despite the authors explicitly stating in their original work: “We are not comparing Trump, his supporters or their arguments to the Nazis in any way.” The authors had actually written their piece to critique media practices that demonize constituencies to advance political agendas.
Read more at the Hill here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
