ADL Criticizes Wikipedia Over Unaddressed Biased Edits

First reported by Fox News, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has expressed frustration regarding Wikipedia’s lack of action in addressing biased and anti-Israel content. Over a year ago, the ADL identified a group of at least 30 editors coordinating such edits, but the online encyclopedia has not made significant changes to correct or remove this content.

According to ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, the organization expected the identified editors would face removal and their edits reversed. However, Wikipedia has not met these expectations. In 2025, the ADL published a report titled “Editing for Hate,” highlighting a coordinated campaign affecting Wikipedia articles about Israel and Palestine, among other related topics. They noted pro-Hamas perspectives particularly influenced Arabic-language content.

“We expected that their edits would have been reversed. We expected that new policies would be implemented. Almost nothing has changed,” Greenblatt told Fox News Digital.

Wikipedia’s community banned some of the editors, but the ADL claims the primary issues remain unresolved. In 2026, the ADL released another report, “Damage Done: Wikipedia Leaves Biased Edits Unchecked Despite Editor Bans.” This noted that 91% of one banned editor’s edits still existed on the platform.

One account, Iskandar323, highlighted in the 2025 report, serves as a case study of ongoing issues. Despite bans, this account continued contributing, adding 485 edits to six prominent articles, with 225 made post-Hamas’ October 7 attacks in Israel.

“A topic ban is great in theory, but in practice, if you’re not doing it, if you aren’t really taking action, there’s really no ban at all,” Greenblatt said.

The ADL reported that Iskandar323 edited Wikipedia’s “Hamas” article, moving crucial context to less-visited pages. This action leaves information less accessible to readers unless they navigate to specific pages.

Wikipedia’s Arbitration Committee examined Iskandar323’s conduct. After finding disruptive behavior in editing related to Palestine-Israel topics, the account received a site ban. However, crucial material concerning antisemitism, human rights abuses, and other significant issues relocated to companion articles.

On November 21, 2023, the account removed significant text from the “Gaza war” page, erasing forensic evidence of violence during the October 7 attacks. Such acts represent the intentional effort to drive a narrative that demonizes the Jewish state while sanitizing terror incidents, according to Greenblatt.

The ADL emphasized Wikipedia’s role in the broader online landscape, stating that biased edits have far-reaching consequences. Search engines and large language models frequently draw on Wikipedia for information, impacting public discourse and understanding.

Despite pressure from federal inquiries and Wikipedia’s own enforcement actions, coordination among suspect editors decreased but did not cease completely. A July 2026 review identified 19 active accounts still editing related articles, with eight avoiding sanctions despite prior identification.

“But when Wikipedia is poisoning the public conversation…it’s no longer an unbiased source of information. It’s become, actually, a weapon,” Greenblatt stated.

To address these issues, the ADL recommended several measures, urging the Wikimedia Foundation to enforce accountability by verifying editor identities and initiating a task force against antisemitic bias.

They also suggested search engines and AI developers increase transparency when using Wikipedia as a source, and encouraged oversight hearings on Wikipedia bias by policymakers.

The press and public should understand that chatbots and AI often rely on Wikipedia for summaries, even without explicit disclosure. The ADL urged critical examination of citations and quotes drawn from AI-generated content.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Wikimedia Foundation, which did not immediately respond.