EXCLUSIVE | WIKIPEDIA VOLUNTEERS MOBILISE AGAINST MISINFORMATION

New Delhi: As more than 64 countries are electing new governments this year, misinformation and fake news have become a hindrance in the process of free and fair democratic elections. Looking at the largest democracy’s election process, the complexities are that much more vast and challenging, given how AI and fake news have penetrated the information ecosystem.

Many times, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cautioned about the misuse of AI and deep fake and not without a reason. Be it Aamir Khan or Dhoni, there have been several incidents of fake or doctored videos of Bollywood actors, cricketers or even Home Minister Amit Shah making the rounds. Big internet companies such as Google, YouTube and Meta have announced several campaigns and partnerships to ensure that these platforms are not used to spread misinformation and fake news.

As the sixth largest website in the world, Wikipedia is also a platform vulnerable to the spread of false information. Run by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation, the largest online encyclopedia gets its content contributions from over 265,000 volunteer editors worldwide. In an era where misinformation proliferates, their work becomes increasingly crucial in safeguarding knowledge on the website. More so, because Wikipedia is increasingly seen as a major source for conducting preliminary research.

In an exclusive interview with TIMES NOW, Costanza Sciubba Caniglia, the Wikimedia Foundation's Anti-Disinformation Strategy Lead, emphasized the pivotal role of Wikipedia in the fight against misinformation, stating, "Wikipedia can be seen as an antidote to misinformation because of its human-led content moderation systems." Together, they curate and disseminate information on notable subjects, citing reliable sources such as newspapers and peer-reviewed journals. According to Costanza, "Volunteers on Wikipedia vigilantly defend against information that does not meet the site's editorial guidelines."

India plays a pivotal role in this regard. As far as editor contribution is concerned, India provides the third largest editor base on Wikipedia, only behind the US and UK. Moreover, India dominates also in the readership as is evident from 2023’s most viewed articles which were around Cricket, IPL, and Indian cinema.

Maintaining neutrality is paramount for Wikipedia, ensuring that all content is presented without bias. "One of the oldest and most fundamental pillars of Wikipedia is that it must be written from a neutral point of view,” Constanza adds “Wikipedia communities have contributors from all walks of life and different perspectives who can effectively reach consensus based on facts.”

To proactively mitigate risks against Wikimedia projects, volunteers also collaborate with the Wikimedia Foundation. Costanza underscores this partnership, stating, "While volunteers address the vast majority of content and conduct issues on Wikimedia projects, the Foundation has a Trust and Safety function that alerts and supports the volunteer community on some extreme cases when they are reported to them. In some cases, the Foundation investigates larger issues of disinformation and other systematic forms of disruptive behavior that might appear on the site.”

During critical global events like elections, Wikipedia takes special measures to uphold the integrity of information. Administrators have the authority to temporarily protect pages from modification by less experienced and new editors, while experienced editors utilize watchlists to monitor high-traffic articles for misinformation. Public logs of all changes on Wikipedia are available to everyone to review how information is added, removed, changed, and debated on the site. Volunteers also have a plethora of specialized tools and bots to help them quickly identify and revert wrongful edits.

Beyond its internal mechanisms, Wikipedia fosters a culture of fact-checking among its volunteer editors and patrollers. Through open discussion and debate, editors collaborate to verify information from reliable sources, upholding Wikipedia's commitment to neutral, fact-based content. Costanza emphasizes, "Wikipedia's volunteer editors are indeed fact-checkers of their own accord."

2024-05-07T12:23:06Z dg43tfdfdgfd