Saudi Arabian authorities have reportedly managed to «infiltrate» Wikipedia and have convicted two of the site’s administrators in an attempt to control the site’s content, according to the non-governmental organizations Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and SMEX.
The NGO has indicated that an investigation carried out by Wikimedia led to the termination of all its administrators in Saudi Arabia in December 2022 and has revealed that the Saudi government recruited two administrators of the organization in the country to work as «agents» to control information and uncover content creators critical of the authorities.
Sources with knowledge of the matter who have spoken to these NGOs have detailed that the authorities arrested in September 2020 two Wikipedia administrators identified as Osama Khalid and Ziyad al-Sofiani, who were charged with «modifying public opinion» and «violating public morals».
They were subsequently sentenced to prison terms of five and eight years, respectively, although a court in September 2022 increased the sentence against Khalid for the same charges to 32 years.
Wikipedia relies on a number of volunteer administrators and editors who are licensed by Wikimedia. Thus, although they are not Wikimedia employees and do not receive compensation, Wikimedia has established community standards to give them privileges as independent and trusted editors who self-regulate and manage content.
«The Saudi government’s infiltration of Wikipedia with government agents acting as independent editors and the imprisonment of two editors who refused to follow orders demonstrates not only its persistent use of spies within international organizations, but the dangers of attempting to produce independent content in the country,» lamented DAWN Executive Director Sarah Leah Whitson.
«It is wildly irresponsible for international organizations and companies to assume that their subsidiaries can operate independently or safely outside the control of the Saudi Arabian government,» she said.
In this vein, Raed Jarrar, DAWN’s Director of Advocacy, stressed that «it is despicable, though entirely predictable, that the Saudi government has put Saudis on trial solely for publishing content about human rights abuses.» «Wikimedia must also take responsibility for the fact that its authorized editors are languishing in prison for the work they did for Wikipedia pages.»
For his part, SMEX Executive Director Mohamed Nayem noted that «infiltrating Wikipedia is another example of the Saudi government’s efforts to control online information and knowledge production in our region.» «It is troubling that the Saudi government’s efforts to spread disinformation about its abuses has broken a trusted and credible international platform like Wikipedia,» he said.
The statement was released after Wikimedia announced in December a ban on 16 users who «fell into a conflict of interest by editing Wikipedia projects in the Middle East and North Africa region.»
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
