Did Saudi government agents infiltrate Wikipedia? What a report says

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia continued to infiltrate Wikipedia by recruiting the organization's highest-ranked administrators.

The Saudi Arabian government infiltrated Wikipedia with the aim to control the content on the website, a report said. Saudi Arabia also jailed its two editors of Wikipedia Osama Khalid and Ziyad al-Sofiani for "swaying public opinion" and "violating public morals", Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) reported.

Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is seen.(Reuters)

Both were sentenced to five and eight years as the authorities believed that they shared information which was critical about political activists in Saudi Arabia, the report said.

"The Saudi government's infiltration of Wikipedia with government agents acting as independent editors, and imprisonment of non-compliant editors, demonstrates not only its persistent use of spies inside international organizations but the dangers of attempting to produce independent content in the country," Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's executive director said.

Wikimedia Foundation spokesperson said in a statement, “The Wikimedia Foundation outlined the details of its investigation of Wikipedia projects in the MENA region in a note to Wikimedia community members last month.”

“The Foundation globally banned 16 users of Wikipedia projects in the MENA region. The ban decision impacted 16 users, not all of whom were administrators, from Arabic and Farsi Wikipedia. The Foundation always publishes relevant findings from its investigations, including the list of all accounts banned and their contributions to our public platform. A global ban removes all editing privileges across Wikipedia and all Wikimedia projects in perpetuity,” the statement added.

“An in-depth investigation disclosed overwhelming evidence that the users violated the Wikimedia Foundation’s Terms of Use by engaging in significant conflict of interest editing and posing a threat to the safety of other users on Wikimedia platforms. In deciding on this course of action, the Foundation’s investigation concluded that the actions of these users caused a credible threat to harm, and the overall safety of Wikimedians, and the security of Wikimedia platforms. Any further details can be found at the links provided,” Wikimedia Foundation spokesperson further said.

Separately, Wikimedia Foundation, which operates Wikipedia, announced a global ban of 16 users on Arabic and Farsi Wikipedia in December 2022. The Foundation has said the arrests of the two volunteers, which occurred in 2020 are unrelated to this recent ban. The report however draws a connection.

Wikipedia volunteer editors, although, are not “authorized by Wikimedia.” Anyone can edit on Wikipedia and volunteer administrators are nominated by other volunteer editors and voted on by their peers to get access to certain tools to administer content.