Wikipedia co-founder blocks editing of ‘Gaza genocide’ page over ‘egregious’ anti-Israel claims

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales personally intervened to block the site’s users from editing a page titled “Gaza genocide” after describing the article as a “particularly egregious” violation of neutrality.

“At present, the lede and the overall presentation state, in Wikipedia’s voice, that Israel is committing genocide, although that claim is highly contested,” Wales wrote on a discussion page accompanying the controversial article.

It is relatively rare for Wikipedia editors to be locked or blocked from editing. 

But Wales — whose current title is chair emeritus of the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation that oversees the free online encyclopedia — said that Wikipedia editors need to attribute claims of genocide to outside sources instead of presenting them as a matter of fact.

He explained that he was not asserting, “it is not genocide,” but that “it is not the job of Wikipedia to adjudicate the issue.”

Wales cited Wikipedia policies on neutrality and attribution to make his case.

“Remember: ‘This policy is non-negotiable, and the principles upon which it is based cannot be superseded by other policies or guidelines, nor by editor consensus,’” Wales wrote.

As of Monday morning, the lede of the “Gaza genocide” page stated: “The Gaza genocide is the ongoing, intentional, and systematic destruction of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip carried out by Israel during the Gaza war.

“The genocidal acts include mass killings, starvation, infliction of serious bodily and mental harm, and preventing births,” the lede continued, citing “other acts include blockading, destroying civilian infrastructure, destroying health care facilities, killing health care workers and aid seekers, causing mass forced displacement, committing sexual violence, and destroying educational, religious, and cultural sites.”

Visitors to the page on Monday morning could still read the text in spite of the editing block.

The top of the page includes a message next to an icon of a lock.

“This article is currently protected from editing until November 4, 2025 at 21:47 UTC, or until editing disputes have been resolved,” the message stated.

The disclaimer is “not an endorsement of the current version.”

Wales came under fire from Wikipedia editors who accused him of bowing to pressure from pro-Israel groups that have long accused the site of anti-Israel bias.

“I was asked point-blank in a high profile media interview about this article, and I answered with transparency and honesty: this article fails to meet our high standards and needs immediate attention,” Wales wrote.

It was not immediately clear which interview he was referring to.

He demanded that the volunteer editors of the site adopt a “neutral approach” that “would begin with a formulation such as: ‘Multiple government, NGOs, and legal bodies have described or rejected the characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocide’.”

Some of the editors who posted on the “talk page” that accompanies the entry voiced outrage about Wales’ intervention.

An editor who goes by the handle “wasianpower” wrote that his move was “disrespectful to all the experienced, good faith editors who put a lot of hard work into getting this article to the place it is.”

Others called Wales’ intervention an “appalling overreach” that amounted to an “end-run around our procedures.”

A third Wikipedia editor accused him of having a conflict of interest given his reported ties to Israel.

Wales has reportedly visited Israel at least 10 times. In 2015, he was awarded the prestigious Dan David Prize from Tel Aviv University.

“You have a major conflict of interest here given that you’re a strong supporter of the accused entity,” one Wikipedia editor wrote.

Israel launched military actions against Gaza-based Hamas after the Islamist terrorist organization staged attacks on Oct. 7, 2023 that led to the deaths of some 1,200 Israelis.

A number of scholars and human rights organizations have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, where the death count from Israeli military reprisals has been estimated in the tens of thousands. Israeli authorities have strongly denied allegations of genocide.

The Post has sought comment from Wales, Wikimedia Foundation, the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority.