←back to thread

767 points coloneltcb | 9 comments | | HN request time: 0.001s | source | bottom
Show context
jjmarr ◴[] No.43799721[source]
The English Wikipedia is a massive target for influence campaigns. I don't think there are any other communities as resilient as it. Just an example:

There's certain individual or group that edited under the name "Icewhiz", was banned, and now operates endless sockpuppet accounts in the topic area to influence Wikipedia's coverage on the Middle East. One of them was an account named "Eostrix", that spent years making clean uncontroversial edits until one day going for adminship.

Eostrix got 99% approval in their request for adminship. But it didn't matter, because an anonymous individual also spent years pursuing Eostrix, assembling evidence, and this resulted in Eostrix's block just days before they became a Wikipedia administrator.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Sockpuppet_investiga...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia_talk:Arbitration_Com...

It's a useful contrast to a place like Reddit, where volunteer moderators openly admit to spreading terrorist propaganda or operating fake accounts when their original one gets banned. You don't get to do that on Wikipedia. If you try, someone with far too much time on their hands will catch you because Wikipedia doesn't need to care about Daily Active Users and the community cares about protecting a neutral point of view.

Not denying the existence of influence campaigns. There have been several major pro-Palestinian ones recently, which is probably why this letter has been sent. But the only reason you know about them is because Wikipedia openly fights them instead of covering them up. Most social media websites don't care and would rather you don't bring it to their attention. That is why Reddit banned /r/bannedforbeingjewish.

replies(23): >>43799807 #>>43799949 #>>43799996 #>>43800530 #>>43800893 #>>43800897 #>>43801213 #>>43801646 #>>43801658 #>>43801780 #>>43801869 #>>43802218 #>>43802254 #>>43802270 #>>43802274 #>>43802326 #>>43802473 #>>43803493 #>>43804190 #>>43804262 #>>43804585 #>>43805561 #>>43805563 #
PeterStuer ◴[] No.43802473[source]
Keri Smith, a former hardcore SJW activist, has documented how she and others daily targeted people through Wikipedia edits for preparing a cancel. It's quite fascinating the extend of organization and process they used.

For instance, they would not directly edit the target's page, but start working 2 links removed from it, compromise the "friend of a friend of a friend", and then work towards the actual target and finally try to cancel the target through "association with " accusations.

replies(3): >>43802526 #>>43802604 #>>43804483 #
maigret ◴[] No.43802526[source]
What is SJW? Please avoid using unclear acronyms.
replies(5): >>43802579 #>>43802587 #>>43802591 #>>43802954 #>>43805079 #
albumen ◴[] No.43802587[source]
Social Justice Warrior. The acronym has been around for a long time.
replies(4): >>43802756 #>>43802796 #>>43803809 #>>43804100 #
1. hnlmorg ◴[] No.43802756{3}[source]
That doesn’t mean what everyone is familiar with it. For example I’ve been around since internet slang first developed a life of its own. And yet I wasn’t immediately familiar with SJW either.
replies(4): >>43803129 #>>43803386 #>>43804294 #>>43804969 #
2. firesteelrain ◴[] No.43803129[source]
By the time you commented you could have at least searched for the acronym or asked AI.
replies(1): >>43805604 #
3. barotalomey ◴[] No.43803386[source]
In 2025, most online users have learned how to look things up using.. the internet.
replies(1): >>43803806 #
4. maigret ◴[] No.43803806[source]
Of course, but if everyone does it, it is very inconvenient to read and in some case leaves unnecessary space for misunderstanding. Usually, acronyms are followed by the full wording the first time they are mentioned.
replies(1): >>43803812 #
5. barotalomey ◴[] No.43803812{3}[source]
> Usually, acronyms are followed by the full wording the first time they are mentioned.

I'm sure they did at the time this (SJW) acronym got popular. That was maybe 10-15 years ago.

replies(1): >>43805676 #
6. rendaw ◴[] No.43804294[source]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SJW redirects to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice_warrior
7. hnlmorg ◴[] No.43805604[source]
I wasn’t the one who asked.

But even if I were, you’re not accounting for the cumulative benefit saving others from having to research the same acronym.

replies(1): >>43805866 #
8. hnlmorg ◴[] No.43805676{4}[source]
SWJ wasn’t a popular acronym 10 years (let alone 15) ago in the online communities I hung around in. ;)
9. firesteelrain ◴[] No.43805866{3}[source]
Let’s get real, they can search. HN doesn’t have a repo of acronyms and this isn’t a technical document where you need to spell out the acronym on first use