A detailed analysis of Wikipedia’s editing patterns has uncovered systematic changes to articles related to political content, revealing a focused effort to tie Donald Trump to fascism. The Wikipedia article on “Trumpism” contains 31 references to fascism, with more than half of the article’s content added by a single editor.
PirateWires reports that recent investigations into Wikipedia’s editing practices have revealed significant patterns in how political content is being shaped on the platform, particularly regarding articles related to former President Donald Trump. The analysis shows that several interconnected articles have been created and modified with a specific focus on associating Trump with fascism.
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.
The timing of article creation has also raised questions about coordination with external media. The “Donald Trump and Fascism” article was created on September 21, 2024, the same day the Guardian published a 4,000-word essay titled “Is Donald Trump a Fascist?” Two users, Di (they-them) and BootsED, are responsible for 91.2 percent of this article’s content.
Wikipedia’s coordinated effort to label Trump as a fascist is particularly important because of the great weight left-wing Google puts on Wikipedia entries. These entries are typically found at the very top of search results or featured in “Knowledge Panels.” Google has pumped millions of dollars into the Wikipedia smear machine, which in the past has paid off by labeling the California GOP as “Nazis,” a precursor to the current attack on Trump and his supporters.
Read more at PirateWires here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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