'Infiltration of Wikimedia systems': 7 Chinese power users get global ban by Wikipedia

Following a revelation that purported mainland Chinese Wikipedia editors intimidated Hong Kong users, the foundation that oversees Wikipedia has banned seven Chinese power users from all of its websites worldwide. According to a media source on Tuesday, the organisation has also revoked administrator access and other rights for 12 additional people. In July, Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported that mainland Chinese Wikipedia administrators had threatened to report Hong Kong users for national security offences, putting them in danger. 

In a statement released on Tuesday, Maggie Dennis, the Wikimedia Foundation's vice president of community resilience and sustainability, said the organisation looked into an "unrecognised group" of Wikipedia users from mainland China and discovered "security risks" related to "infiltration of Wikimedia systems, including positions with access to personally identifiable information and elected bodies of influence."

Users from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan competed to administer access

HKFP also reported on Hong Kong residents' concerns over election campaigning within the online encyclopaedia, as users from the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan competed for administrator access. According to the HKFP, Wikipedia holds elections for users who want to become administrators, more access to users and more power to change pages. According to the report, users of the Chinese edition were soliciting votes outside of Wikipedia. They were attempting to ensure that mainland administrators were elected.

One of the banned users, Techyan, is a founding member of the Wikimedians of Mainland China (WMC), and another one, Alexander Misel has top-level access to Wikipedia domains, according to Hong Kong Free Press. Walter Grassroot, a user, listed in HKFP's July report, was also banned. Users who have been banned will be unable to utilise or create new accounts. Attempts to gain anonymous access from known IP addresses will be prohibited as well. 

WMC call accusations against its members "unnecessary"

WMC slammed the foundation's activities, calling the accusations against its members "unnecessary" and unsupported by proof, reported by Hong Kong Free Press. According to the group, they were not offered a chance of rebuttal before being banned. They also said that the foundation's claims of electoral canvassing were analogous to vote-rigging theories during the last US presidential election.

(Inputs from ANI)

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