Information Warfare and Wikipedia

The report analyzes how Wikipedia is targeted by information warfare, including undisclosed paid editing, state-sponsored infiltration, and the use of biased sources. Through a case study of the English-language page on the Russo-Ukrainian war, researchers identified patterns where blocked editors used state-affiliated domains and split their edit histories across multiple accounts to evade detection. The document also highlights the risk of 'community capture' in non-English Wikipedias and the psychological toll on volunteer editors fighting these campaigns.

• Wikipedia faces several specific threats from coordinated actors, including undisclosed paid editing for 'reputation management', the use of 'sock-puppets' (multiple deceptive identities), and 'entryism', where states attempt to infiltrate the community of administrators to change policies from within.
• Non-English Wikipedias are susceptible to 'community capture', where a lack of editor diversity allows a specific ethno-linguistic or national group to distort content. An example is the Croatian-language Wikipedia, where editors promoted a 'fascist worldview' and whitewashed crimes of the Nazi-allied Ustashe regime.
• In a case study of the English-language Russo-Ukrainian war page, researchers found that bad actors may use a strategy of dividing edits on similar pages across different accounts to avoid scrutiny.
• Analysis of 86 blocked editors on the Russo-Ukrainian war page revealed that 16 of 22 edits containing state-sponsored domains exhibited narratives consistent with Kremlin-sponsored information warfare, focusing on casting doubt on objectivity, altering historical narratives, and adding Kremlin press releases.
• The Wikimedia Foundation took significant action in September 2021 by banning seven editors and removing administrator powers from 12 others linked to a mainland China group attempting to promote 'the aims of China'.
• Volunteer editors who defend key pages from systematic manipulation face burnout and targeted harassment, including aggressive messages on talk pages, reputation tarnishing, and the leaking of personal information.

APA

Miller, C., Smith, M., Marsh, O., Balint, K., Inskip, C., & Visser, F. (n.d.). Information Warfare and Wikipedia. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Information-Warfare-and-Wikipedia.pdf

Chicago

Miller, Carl, Melanie Smith, Oliver Marsh, Kata Balint, Chris Inskip, and Francesca Visser. Information Warfare and Wikipedia. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, n.d. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Information-Warfare-and-Wikipedia.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{millerndinformation, author = {Miller, Carl and Smith, Melanie and Marsh, Oliver and Balint, Kata and Inskip, Chris and Visser, Francesca}, title = {{Information Warfare and Wikipedia}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Information-Warfare-and-Wikipedia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }